ART, BECOMING FAMOUS AND PARTYING WITH FANS
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Now the world ’ s sex iest magician, Darcy Oake, is bringing his explosive show to Scotland and says he will try out some of his riskiest illusions to date.
The 32-year-old Britain’s Got Talent contestant, who performed at the Queen’s 90th birthday, said he wants to show his Scottish fans something special.
Darcy’s deadly repertoire includes being suspended upside- down in a straitjacket inside the jaws of a giant bear trap. He will up the ante at his shows north of the Border by shunning the stage and letting the crowd move around him. He said: “This is only my second UK tour and I was determined to do something special in Scotland as the crowds in Glasgow the last time were the best I’ve ever had.
“They were so vocal and up for it that I decided to get them more involved this time round by performing slap-bang in the middle of the audience, not 50ft away on a stage. “Everyone will be standing – and the magic will be happening in front of them. One of the illusions is extremely dangerous.” The Canadian shot to fame when he became the f irst magician to reach the finals of BGT in 2014. And he almost sent judge Alesha Dixon into labour when he performed on the final of BGT The Champions, He said: “My illusion in the final of BGT The Champions involved me escaping from a box rigged with explosives. I asked my team, ‘Should we be worried about this? She’s 10ft away and eight months pregnant and this thing’s going to explode.’
“I talked to producers and they were like, ‘No, do it.’ I’ve had many weird things happen. Lots of people have fainted or collapsed and I’ve even had one of my doves lay an egg in someone’s lap – but no labours. I was hoping BGT would be my first.
“I owe everything to that show. It was a life-changer for me. I went from an unknown performing on cruise ships to someone everybody wanted to book.
“I even got an ITV Christmas special and
After his shows later this month at The Caves in Edinburgh on March 22 and St Luke’s in Glasgow on March 23, he’s looking forward to a night out on the town.
Darcy, whose first BGT appearance got more than 100million views on YouTube, said: “The last Glasgow show I did was memorable but the night out that followed was pretty cool and epic, so much so the next day was a complete write-off.
“We went out on the main drag and everyone got split up and had their own little adventure. It was a fun, fun night. I hope we can do the same thing again as it was such a riot for so many reasons.
“My family are Scots way back. I think that is why I had such a good time because we had the same sense of humour.
Being in Glasgow felt like coming home.”
While h i s smoulder ing good looks have earned him a barrage of f ema l e fans across the globe, he is embarrassed about being dubbed the “world’s sexiest magician”.
Darcy said: “I never look at myself that way but I will
Sunday Mail
Family means a lot to Darcy and in BGT he did an illusion dedicated to his brother Bruce, who died from a drugs overdose in 2011. He said: “He was 25 and I was 23. He struggled with drugs and addiction to heroin, cr y s ta l meth and painkillers. My family are ver y open about talk ing about what happened. We grew up in a loving household. “We have been fundraising and we’ve just started building the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre in Winnipeg, where we grew up, in his memory. It has been a nine-year process but we are really proud of it.” Da r c y, who s e heroes are Derren Brown, David Blaine and David Copperfield, added: “I feel privileged to have turned my passion into a life-long journey, for which I am really grateful.”