Wands-on magic

WANDS at the ready, a school for budding Harry Potters is opening in York. The Grand Opera House will become Yorkshire’s answer to Hogwarts with The Magic Hatter’s School of Wizardry.

The man in charge wears an outside emerald green top hat, red frock coat and green Doc Martens. He is The Magic Hatter, or Dan Wood as he’s known outside the world of magic.

The Big Foot Out Of School drama club, which he’s been running, will be transformed by a wave of his wand into a training ground for wizards this month.

The timing, says Wood, couldn’t be better with the popularity of magic increased by the Harry Potter books and films, along with two new big magic shows on TV. “They will bring more people to magic and make it even more popular. So it’s a great time to be doing a magic school,” he adds.

He and his wife, Bev, run Magic Hatter Birthdays, bringing magical entertainment to birthday parties, outdoor events such as fetes and fairs, schools and hospitals around York and Harrogate.

Wood was six when his parents bought him a Paul Daniels magic set. That and Ali Bongo’s book of magic saw him bitten by the magic bug, starting with simple tricks and developing from there.

“When I was younger I wanted to be an astronaut, a fireman and all the usual things. I also wanted to be an actor use drama in a different way,” he says.

He took a three-year course at the Central School of Speech and Drama that combined theatre and teaching. Training took in children’s theatre, Theatre in Education and working in settings such as prisons and other community settings.

“In the final year it allowed me to focus on writing and directing for children – and that’s when I started putting illusions into children’s theatre,” he says.

For two years he was creative manager at Alton Towers, writing and directing live shows for the theme park, including Pirates Of Mutiny Bay and The Wonders Of Algernon’s Attic.

Now he and Bev run Magic Hatter Birthdays.

“I’m not your typical magician. I don’t wear a black suit and tails. I wear an outsize green top hat and green Doc Martens. It’s all tied to an Alice In Wonderland theme.

“The Tim Burton film was coming out when we set up the business and it’s one of my favourite children’s books, so we thought let’s draw on that.

“We set out to be slightly different in the way we do magic, coming up with original routines.

We have different themes. Wonderland is our core theme, but we do dinosaur parties, where all the magic is dino related, as well.

“We’re always adding new themes. That’s something I enjoy most, adapting existing tricks to fit a theme or coming up with new ones.”

His wife, who trained as a stage manager, organises the business – as well as all his magic boxes and tricks – and is a balloon artist in her own right.

They also support a charity, the POD Charitable Trust, entertaining sick and injured children in hospitals around Yorkshire. “Some of the children really need a bit of cheering up, and something as simple as a balloon animal, a few magic tricks and some silly antics can be just the thing to take their mind off being in hospital,”

he says.

As well as holding children’s Christmas parties at York Grand Opera House, he staged an illusion for Cinderella this year.

“Magic lends itself really well to pantomime.

The two go together like Prince Charming and Cinderella, especially as Christmas is such a magical time of year – Aladdin has a flying carpet and a genie appearing, Peter Pan has flying and fairy magic.”

The stage trick saw an 8ft ladder pulled out of a small bag. “We decided to go for one quite big illusion and perhaps expand on that in future years,” he says.

“I worked with the cast to make sure they could do the illusion. It looks very effective but technically doesn’t require much skill.”

What he couldn’t predict was the illusion performing a vanishing trick and disappearing from the show. That happened when Buttons actor Stuart Wade had to pull out through a back injury. With actors switching roles with little rehearsal, the magic trick was temporarily dropped from the show.

The first ten-week term at The Magic Hatter’s School of Wizardry begins on January 26, with lessons suitable for complete beginners and aimed at children aged seven to ten. The cost is £90 per child, which includes their own magic set to practise with during lessons and at home.

■ For more about The School of Wizardry call the Grand Opera House box office on 01904-678701 or email lizzierichards@theambassadors.com