Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Illusionist and mentalist known for controversial stunts like live Russian roulette and predicting winning lottery numbers on television.
On the island
Eight records
Choir of St John's College, Cambridge, Wren Orchestra
the only happy piece… I would put this on and step out… brighten things up
Goldberg VariationsFavourite
This has followed me around for a long time… first heard in Silence of the Lambs
Piano Concerto No. 9 in E flat major
Maria João Pires, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Theodor Guschlbauer
first CD I ever bought… so many memories tied in with this
Michael Chance, Brandenburg Consort, Stephen Cleobury
a yearning for mercy from God… as an atheist now, still feel transcendence
Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007: I. Prélude
music that needs unlocking… private feel… friend played it
Dame Felicity Lott, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Neeme Järvi
sad and beautiful… life is centripetal… melancholy
sad and beautiful… painting music… story about his father
In conversation
Presenter asks
2:06How do you describe the art form of mentalism?
It's the technical term for what I do. And it really … I suppose it probably covers everything from, I don't know, from psychic mediums through Uri Geller through to magicians doing tricks with a sort of mental theme. But my interest was definitely in the psychological aspects of it, sometimes in psychological methods, sometimes a psychological effect, even if you're using conjuring techniques to get there.
Presenter asks
5:23Do you get a kick out of pushing the envelope and seeing how far you can go?
It's never been about that. I mean, I've had done shows that have created some controversy, but I've done plenty of others that haven't and have been quite sort of, you know, quiet and understated. The key for me has only been finding a strong idea, like a clear dramatic hook … and then having a subtext that makes it worth doing and feel intelligent and not just about the shock value. And that's really all I think about. If you aim to be controversial for the sake of it, you'd end up with a very thin and meaningless show.
Presenter asks
19:27What plan did you have for yourself at that time [after the gap year]?
Well, I thought I was going to be an international lawyer. I realized soon I didn't want to become a lawyer or a German. And from then on, I it all just became about what was fun in the moment and I just remember thinking, if I take a cross section of my life, does it feel like it's in the right place? And it did, and then that was that was all I ever wanted or and I never moved beyond that.
The keepsakes
The book
The Collected Works of C. G. Jung
Carl Gustav Jung
I've been reading around him for many years, but I've just started reading the original works. So I'm taking the collected works of C. G. Jung, and that will keep me going for a while. I just hope my interest is maintained in them. And I'll have plenty of time for sort of self-therapy on this island, so I think that'd be a good place to start.
The luxury
I'm taking my camera. I have a Leica camera, which goes everywhere with me. And I'm sort of aware there won't be a huge amount of street photography to do on the island, which is sort of my main thing. But I think it'll be an interesting photography project... As long as I can take film and or charger and spare SD cards, then I'm taking my little camera.
Presenter asks
20:17Talk me through that [the 'bad spandau ballet, gay leisure pirate' phase]?
I wore a cloak for many years. I had long hair. A, I had hair. B, I had long hair. I may have had a drop earring for about a week. Yeah, I sort of fancied myself as a sort of philosopher-poet, but was, yeah, somewhere more in the gay female leisure pirate. And I used to go to a cave that was hidden on one side of the Avon Gorge … and I would sit, light a bonfire, and read Nietzsche. Because that's what I was like. … I had this liquid latex … I put some of this latex on my eye … I went down to breakfast and I loved the attention. … I felt obliged to put a bit more on and continue this story, which then I couldn't back out of because day by day, and I'm adding more and more until in the end I'm disfigured on one side of my face. … I think once I started performing, it felt like it took care of all that. I could take all that pathetic, insecure mess and just funnel it into a valid arena of performing.
Presenter asks
28:26How conscious are you of the ethical complexities of what you're doing?
Hugely. One thing that really helps is the fact that I really only make one or two of these shows a year. So there's a lot of time … So it's hugely important to us. If you're putting somebody through a dark journey, A, there's got to be a good reason for doing it so that their experience of it and their story of it to themselves is worth doing. First of all, they're vetted beforehand. … The actual experience itself is carefully curated and orchestrated so that they're always on the right side of feeling safe. The sort of immediate aftercare is hugely important. And this isn't just me doing it. We also have independent people that are there too.
Presenter asks
32:13And how do you explain that [the positive changes in the faith-healing show]?
It's exactly that thing. I think it's the story that we tell ourselves, the stories. But again, it was a small percentage of the audience. And if you take 2,000 people, that 1% or whatever is always going to be extraordinary, anyway. So that's your starting point. … I remember a guy with trigger finger one night … this guy just he couldn't believe it, he was able to move. And most nights there'd be something that would really knock me back. Slip discs that seemingly had gone movement that was people were able to do that they weren't able to do before. I mean, it was just extraordinary.
“I think as you grow up, you realize that being impressive is actually not an important thing. Being nice, open and kind, they're the things I warm to in people.”
“Magic's a very good analogy for how we generally face the world. We have this infinite data source coming at us. There's an infinite number of things that we could think about or pay attention to, but we choose what to pay attention to, and we edit and delete. and so on. And we start to make up a story of what's going on and then we mistake that story for the truth.”
“The desire to sort of impress. It feels like that's what you should be doing. So, the one thing you shouldn't be doing is trying to impress, because it's the one thing people aren't impressed by.”
“I think life is centripetal in that it pulls us towards the center, not to the outside. And we have a million distractions and things that keep us busy, but ultimately we're pulled back to the middle, which is why I'm not a big believer in optimism and believing in yourself and so on because when those things let you down on a bad day you've got nowhere to go other than oh I must have just failed. I much prefer the stoic approach of making peace with failure and fortune and moving in easy record with it rather than trying to fight against it.”
“It's sad and it's beautiful and beautiful things pass and that's why they're sad and it's all of life for me.”