Middlesbrough comedy magician Pete Firman explains to Viv Hardwick why he admires the old-style magicians of TV, and David Nixon in particular.

TEESSIDE-born comedy magician Pete Firman might like to test the boundaries of taste as an entertainer, but he confesses he’s a big fan of the old TV performers… particularly the suave and sophisticated TV giant David Nixon.

Strangely it’s my mention of Nixon’s name as we discuss his forthcoming visit to Stockton’s ARC next Thursday – as part of Firman’s Jokes & Tricks tour – which prompts him to say: “You’re not going to believe this, but I’m looking at a picture of David Nixon at this moment.

“I’ve also got various magicians that I admire and I’ve got a signed photograph of David Nixon and importantly, and more pertinently to you, is that the letter with it was sent to a lady in Mandale Road, Acklam, Middlesbrough. And it was the reason I bought the two together because of the Middlesbrough connection,” says Firman who bought the items from an internet autograph dealer.

“The letter says ‘Dear Barbara, thank you very much for your letter and for all the nice things you said about me and I’m delighted to enclose an autographed photograph for you and I do hope you like it. Best wishes, David’. It must have been a reply to fan mail. David Nixon strikes me as a very nice fellow who did all these panel shows like Give Us A Clue as well.

“So I’ve now got it mounted on the wall here because I really a sad old bugger,” he jokes.

“I think perhaps those that have a jab at the magicians from the old days, deep down really admire them and they definitely own them something. It’s all this standing on the shoulder of giants thing.

You can’t do what you do without what has gone on before.

“I’m very much into magic history and a bit of a geek because I have a big library about dead guys which I never saw perform and never will because there are no Youtube clips featuring them. Magic is really rich in history and I don’t think people realise it’s probably the world’s second oldest profession,”

says Firman.

My next piece of good fortune comes in asking if Firman would be interested in the primetime magic slot being discussed by the BBC at the moment.

“I’m not saying anything and it’s a ‘too early to tell’ not saying anything. To be absolutely honest I’ve got a couple of things for TV but I have heard about the BBC thing and it would be a great opportunity.

So who knows. I only do a little bit of gross humour magic but you need your show to have texture, light and shade and something for everybody,” he says.

On his Jokes & Tricks tour, which was launched at the Edinburgh Festival, Firman says it was inspired by his previous visit to the Scottish capital where he’d teased the audience for groaning at one of his jokes. “I told them ‘what a deal, jokes and tricks, this is good value’ and one of the reviewers latched onto this as a punchline. I just grabbed it as a idea,” he says.

For the tour he’s got a van-load of magic gear because it’s the first time he’s done a solo tour having featured in shows for most of the main UK TV channels.

“It’s going to be nearly two hours of me on stage and I think that’s great. I think it’s common for a lot of comics to have a support act for the first hour and then come on but because I’ve done Edinburgh shows plus the stand-up circuit and I’ve got enough stuff to do two hours.

“All the material is tried and tested and what’s good is the audience participation. If someone is up for a few laughs you can improvise and it keeps me on my toes. I’m pretty good at reading the audience and knowing which people are going to be responsive and I’m just looking for people having a great time,” says Firman who reveals that this year he’s going for a few death-defying feats, teleportation, mental telepathy and some “watch through your fingers” magic.

So in 2010 what kind of fan mail does Firman get?

“It’s not written these days. It’s email, although people still do like an autograph or a signed postcard- sized photo. But I’ve never seen anything of mine come up on Ebay. I should think I’m quite cheap. It’s very odd when you get asked for an autograph.

I did a student gig recently and got asked to sign a scrap of paper. I’m sure when that student woke up the next day and looked at the scrap of paper they must have wondered ‘who the hell is this?’.”

■ Pete Firman, Jokes & Tricks, Stockton ARC, Thursday, October 28. Box Office: 01642-525-199 arconline.

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