A white man with piercing blue eyes is mostly in shadow, with only the right edge of his face in the light. He has blue tape all over his face, covering everything but his eyes, nostrils and mouth. He is holding some playing cards to his mouth as if he is about to eat them, his hand is in a blue latex medical glove.

Magic: An Illustrated History

Jim Dahl Presents

Book Now

Information

Time: 3pm

Tickets: Pay What You Can (Recommended Price £15)*

*All orders subject to a £2 transaction fee

Running Time: 50 mins

Age Recommendation: 16+

This event takes place in our Members Library

Priority booking is now open to BAC Champions and Hive Members.
General booking opens Friday 24 July at 12pm

Everybody knows it’s not real, it’s done with magnets and mirrors, an extra piece, some secret thing…

Combining live vocals, puppetry and illusion to create a shifting and dreamlike narrative, Magic: An Illustrated History is a new show in which performer and musician Jim Dahl Presents an oblique history of magic, and the conflicting role of the magician as conjuror, raconteur, and charlatan. 

“Strikingly grotesque” The New Statesman

“Possesses the most beautiful, bluesy, bluegrass voice you can imagine”
Buzz Magazine


Reviews for previous work

Biography

Jim Dahl Presents is a performer and musician based in Wales.

His practice is informed by folklore, music, and the uncanny. His work has been presented throughout the UK, Europe, and North America. 

He lives with his dog Binky. 

Credits

Dramaturgy Ocean Stefan

Made possible by the generous support of Shift, tactileBOSCH, SouthHouse and Battersea Arts Centre.

Access

PRE EVENT INFORMATION

This event takes place in person in our Members Library. This space is on the first floor, with step-free access via a lift.

If you have booked a ticket you will receive an email from us before your performance detailing important information about your visit.

PERSONAL ASSISTANT/COMPANION TICKETS

If you require the assistance of a friend or helper to attend, we can make a free ticket available for your companion. You can book access companion tickets online or contact the Box Office to book by emailing boxoffice@bac.org.uk.

To book a free access companion online:

  • Log in to your account here
  • Go to ‘Other preferences’ and tick ‘I require a personal assistant/companion’.
  • Choose the performance, date and seats you would like and if you add at least 2 tickets to your basket, then one of these will automatically become free.

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Content

  • Loud noises
  • Audience participation

VISIT OUR ACCESS PAGE

We want our shows to be as accessible to as many people as possible.

We offer tickets to most shows on a Pay What You Can basis throughout the year.

Tickets for Unreal Magic Festival start at £4, and we have recommended pricing to help you choose a price that works for you.

We know that ticket price is a huge barrier for some. If you can afford to pay the recommended price or more, choosing to do so supports those that can’t. It makes it possible for us to continue to offer Pay What You Can and welcome those who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend.

Find Out More

Also part of UNREAL

A headshot of a white woman with blonde hair and blue eyes in a black and white pinstriped suit. Her mouth is open, and lots of tongues are falling out of it.

7 Nov

A Mouthful Of Tongues

Stina Fors

'A Mouthful of Tongues' is a performance about what a body can hold, and what it cannot contain.

Event Info Book Now
Two images are placed next to each other horizontally. On the left, a man with long brown hair tied up in a bun is using his hand as a puppet with two googly eyes stuck on top of his fingers. On the right, another man is sat down and dressed all in black, and is reaching over to the right with a deck of cards in his hand.

7 Nov

Black Magic and Iterations
(Double Bill)

Tom Cassani, Luis Sartori do Vale and Kalle Nio

How much do you trust your own eyes? Witness a double bill of world-class contemporary magic.

Event Info Book Now
A woman with dark hair wearing a blue dress suspends herself from the floor of a dark stage with one arm, the other is raised above her and her legs are raised off the floor.

10 - 11 Nov

Lento e Violento

Valentina Cortese

Blending circus, dance, music and magical illusion, Lento e Violento invites you to explore the fantastical.

Event Info Book Now

Nov 11

Artist Talk: UNREAL

Marisa Carnesky and Jo Bannon

Join trailblazing artists as they discuss their performance practices and how they explore magic within them.

Event Info Book Now

Nov 12

Perpetuity
(Work-in-Progress)

Shambles Ensemble

Fusing visual and physical storytelling, clowning and illusion, Perpetuity explores a life that is never quite finished. 

Event Info Book Now
A man with short black hair and glasses is has their back slightly turned away from the viewer, wearing a black t-shirt. He has just thrown a pale, almost transparent piece of cloth in the air, his arms still outstretched from the motion. The cloth is still suspended in the air, and there is a fan in front of the man keeping it afloat. The background is completely black.

13 Nov

Liminal
(Work-in-Progress)

Hsiang-Sheng Teng

Blending performance magic with live art, movement and film, Liminal invites audiences to explore the boundaries between illusion and reality.

Event Info Book Now
A white man with long curly hair tied back in a ponytail is wearing a suit and extending out his arms as if ready to cast a spell. He looks concerned, as if he’s trying to ward something off. Behind him is a window painted black and a metallic red and purple curtain. The whole image has a paint-like quality to it, as if it’s been put through a retro filter on photo-booth to make it appear more like a poster.

13 Nov

Oraculum
(Work-in-Progress)

Tom Cassani

A new show exploring mass psychic reading to reveal how we unknowingly share similar experiences and thoughts.

Event Info Book Now

13 - 14 Nov

Escaping Oneself

Chloé Vivarès

A haunting, intimate performance blending feats of memory, theatre, and humour.

Event Info Book Now
A white woman with blonde hair is lying on her back, cuddling a ventriloquist doll. She’s wearing a white shirt and jeans, and the doll is also blonde, with lined eyes and very red lips. It’s wearing a cream turtleneck jumper and chequered black and white trousers.

14 Nov

Answer Me, Pythia
(Work-in-Progress)

Stina Fors

A performer. A dummy. One voice between two bodies. What happens to a voice when the belief system around it changes?

Event Info Book Now
An image of a man reading a book whilst a confetti of playing cards falls around him.

Nov 14

This Is Not A Magic Show

Vincent Gambini

A show about magic, about theatre, but mostly about ourselves and how easily we suspend our disbelief.

Event Info Book Now