Hi, I'm Richard Leigh
I’m the Seaside Magician.
I’ve been a professional magician for over 38 years and I do love to talk about the seaside… oh, I do love to talk beside the sea! (Altogether now…)
So much so, that my NEW entertaining and informative talks, The Seaside Shows, are now available for hotels, cruises, seaside attractions and intimate theatres. In each of these six 45-minute talks, I present themed magic while delving into the history of our magical coastal towns.
The great British seaside is an institution and millions of us head off each year to relive memories of basking in the sunshine, enjoying the end of pier shows, winning prizes in the arcades and, of course, building sandcastles with our buckets and spades.
The seaside has a special magic to it and all of us have treasured memories of being under its spell.
Welcome! Please enjoy promenading around my site.
The Seaside Shows
Six MAGICAL talks about the Great British seaside
informative
entertaining
anecdotal
TALK No. 1 – The Seaside Postcard. The history of the seaside postcard is closely linked to the development of the British seaside holiday culture and the popularity of sending postcards as a form of communication during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In this 45-minute entertaining talk you’ll discover the history of the postcard alongside magic performances and anecdotes as I make my way around the resorts in an attempt to collect a postcard from each.
Talk No. 2
A Walk up the Pier
Our destination, the theatre at the end of the pier but… before we get there, there’s time to enjoy the many wonderful stop and stay, watch and pay attractions dotted along those rickety boards of our coastal piers.
In this 45-min show and tell, we will play Bingo (with a magical twist), relax in a deckchair, have our future foretold and discover the ancestry of these fabulous characters who claim to know what lies in the stars for us. We’ll brave the Hall of Mirrors, enjoy a game of Hoopla, discover the origins of the Ferris Wheel and much more.
Talk No. 3
The Theatre at the end of the Pier
We arrive at the theatre at the end of the pier. In this fun-filled 45-min factual presentation, I’ll tell you about the Barker’s – those professional ‘talkers’ responsible for getting the crowds to part with their money and enter the attractions – and show you one of the classic pieces of magic used to draw the crowd in. My family holidays were punctuated by the stars who topped the variety show bill appearing at these wonderful theatres hovering over the sea. I was fortunate enough in my career to be the opening act for some of these fabulous entertainers, Bernie Clifton, Little & Large and the legendary Ken Dodd (almost!)… I never actually got to tour with Ken in the end, a story I’ll share in this talk. Plus, we’ll hear about the talent contests (which started my own career) and you are cordially invited to help me judge the knobbly knees competition.
Talk No. 4
The Amusement Parks
The traveling and static fairs are all part of the Great British seaside. I’ve visited most, especially those with wooden rollercoasters and vintage attractions.
As we spend a leisurely 45-min stroll among the various tents and games luring us with their goldfish and teddy bear prizes, let’s stop and play Hook a Duck. By now, you know I’m a magician and the game is magically stacked in my favour! Yet sometimes a prize winner needs to be seen to further draw the punters. I’ll tell you of the classic games that have long been a feature of the fairgrounds. We’ll enjoy Camel Racing, Test Your Strength, learn about the Carousel – all while these stories are brought to life for you to ‘try your luck’.
Talk No. 5
The Travelling Shows
The circus and their weird and wonderful tented exhibitions and side-shows were part of promenades and seaside greens worldwide.
After the main show, would you be drawn to these ‘Must-See’ attractions such as ‘The Man-Eating Chicken or the ‘Cow with Two Heads’? Your curiosity would probably get the better of you and you’d pay a small fee, enter the tent and leave with a scream, making the queue for tickets grow even longer.
Together, we’ll discover these style of attractions as well as the main Circus, the festivals, the roadshows and even the Punch and Judy show in this 45 min talk including the strangest Side-Show I have ever encountered.
Talk No. 6
A stroll along the PROM
I invite you to promenade with me as we take an historical 45-min walk up the seaside prom. Where does the term come from? We will find out that and much more as we visit the Penny Arcade (and play a game or two), we’ll pass the pier, visit the boating lake, see the historic (and modern) trams, enjoy the band-stand entertainment, the fireworks… and even a tale of the Last Night of the Proms! There’s the Kiss Me Quick hats, the comic seaside billboards to put your head-through and take photos as well as other souvenirs. We will look toward the future of our magnificent seaside towns. Another fascinating trip back to the Golden Years of the Great British seaside.