IS there room for another illusionist-type act on the circuit? Ben Earl hopes so because he has a new four-part series on C4.
The sleight-of-hand genius focuses on one topic in each edition, beginning with crime, upon which he offers an array of bewildering, bedazzling illusions, and cunning tricks and deceptions.
He invites a group of people to join him as he undertakes his feats, leaving them scratching their heads and, at times, even cowering with fear.
How does Earl himself describe the show? “It’s essentially on some level a magic show, but it’s also something which infuses deception, creative thinking, sleight of hand and crazy stunts all on four themed specials.
“We have art, science, crime and money. A lot of the stuff that we’re doing comes from a creative position and is heavily influenced by the art world, movies and other madness like that.
“There’s a lot of that fused through all of the shows. It’s much more literal in the art show, but all of them have a contemporary performance art feel to them.”
While his work draws inspiration from some of his favourite artists – Damian Hirst, Anish Kapoor, Stanley Kubrick and Quentin Tarantino to name a few – Earl would be the first to admit that these haven’t been easy stunts to film.
“You can’t help having an adrenaline surge, scared is not the right thing, but it’s definitely exhilarating whether it was jumping off a building or I do this thing where I climb across moving cars, or setting myself on fire. Instead of looking at it like an adrenaline junkie, for me it’s a creative challenge where I go, ‘how can I do this stunt and make a narrative out of it’.”
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