Reviews: Read What Karsten Meyerhoff Is Saying

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Scripted #33: Ring and Rope

Overall customer rating: ★★★★★

reviewed by Karsten Meyerhoff (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 26 October, 2020)

I have fiddled with the Ring&Rope-concept for quite a while, but it never made it into my repertoire as I couldn't find a story that I thought was interesting enough for the audience and that fit my style. So, I was pleasantly surprised to find a routine that comes with 'a killer script' by the author of 'How to write a script' - or so the ad goes. Ordinary, examinable props, nothing to bring in or out, simple, clear moves: That ticked all the boxes for me.

I will have to say that personally I am rather disappointed. Without giving too much away, I will say that the script is of the type: 'I once saw a magician do this ... and then this ... and then this ...'. Sure, it comes with: 'That's what got me hooked on magic as a child.' and that does add an emotional layer, but I am sorry: That's not a 'killer script' in my book. The story doesn't justify the props at all: The ring is a ring and the rope is a rope. It doesn't give meaning to the threading and unthreading of the rope: It just happens. Yes, it is interesting to read in the script where the author got the moves and the other inspirations from and how he made them 'his own', but that still doesn't make for a killer script. I am stressing all this, since the scripting is presented as the unique selling point of the routine.

Having said that: It is a nice routine that does everything else it claims to do and to be. The props are simple and examinable (at any time), no additional gimmicks are necessary, nothing has to be rung in or out and the moves are simple and clear for both, the magician and the audience. There is no endless fiddling with the rope or the ring, no handing stuff from one hand to the other and back again. The moves flow nicely into one another giving the routine a good flow and a clear structure and the angles are really good on this one. The routine is short and sweet, too: Many Ring&Rope-routines are too long for my taste, so that's another plus.

I wish I could give this two marks: For the script and for the routine as such, because that way I could say that I like the handling and the 'technical' aspects of the routine, but don't care much for the script - which is emphasized so much in the ad.

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Deckless Divination

Overall customer rating: ★★★★★

reviewed by Karsten Meyerhoff (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 09 July, 2020)

First of all, it needs to be said that all the claims made (no stooges, no peeks, ...) are true. Well, the playing card is not entirely freely thought of, but that doesn't take away too much. Other than that, the effect really plays out the way it is described, it is self-working and at 6$ - and even more at 3$, which is the special intro price I paid - you can't go wrong. You get an effect that requires nothing but a double-blank card - business card or otherwise - and you get an effect that should play very well.

There is one thing, though, that I think needs to be mentioned: The way the effect is described, it only works in the English language. If you want to adapt it to another language - German in my case - that is certainly possible, but needs some tweaking, tweaking that some crossword-solving-help-websites (if that is a name at all ...) can help you with. And while you are at it, fiddling around with words, you discover that there are a lot of other possibilities for word-play - so, that may even be an advantage ...