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Ben Hart (magician)

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Ben Hart
Born (1990-10-19) 19 October 1990 (age 34)
Alma materKings' School and Peter Symonds College
Occupations
Years active2007–present
Websitebenhartmagic.com

Benjamin Hart (born 19 October 1990) is an English magician.[1][2][3] In 2007, he was awarded the "Young Magician of the Year" award by The Magic Circle.[4][5] Hart has worked on British television and is an inventor and designer of magic tricks and stage illusions. In 2014, he starred in Killer Magic on BBC Three. Hart was a finalist on Britain's Got Talent in 2019. He is a member of The Magic Circle (organisation) (Member of The Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star)

Television career

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In 2014, Hart wrote and starred in Killer Magic on BBC Three[6] which was awarded "Best Non-Competitive Reality Show" at the National Reality Television Awards. In 2016, Hart starred in Ben Hart's Life Hacks on BBC Three the first episode of which was directed by Matt Edmondson,[7] and later Ben Hart's Life Hacks with The Voice which saw him pranking the celebrity judges of The Voice UK, including Boy George, Paloma Faith and Ricky Wilson of the Kaiser Chiefs.[8] Hart also appeared in a regular slot within Now You See It on BBC One hosted by Mel Giedroyc. Other television credits include The Sorcerer's Apprentice for CBBC, Lorraine, The One Show for BBC One where Hart teleported a human to the top of Broadcasting House, Partners in Rhyme hosted by Len Goodman for BBC One, and ASAP, and Umagang Kay Ganda[9] live in the Philippines. He has also presented his favourite music videos on Myx.[10] For BBC Click and Objective Productions, Hart created the "world's first 360 magic trick" for the Royal Television Society.[11] Hart has also performed his magic live on the radio for BBC Radio One and has created advertising campaigns for Trident, Nicorette, Costa Coffee, and Sky TV. He has appeared multiple times on This Morning (TV programme).[12]

In 2019, Hart auditioned for series thirteen of Britain's Got Talent. His first round aired on 11 May 2019, and he was later selected by the judges as one of the 40 acts to perform in the live semi-finals. On 30 May, he won the public vote at the fourth semi-final and competed in the final against 10 other acts on 2 June. He came in third place on the show. During the judge's feedback, David Walliams described Ben as "the living embodiment of magic".

In September 2019 Hart competed in BGT: The Champions.[citation needed] In January 2020 Hart appeared in America's Got Talent: The Champions. Ben Hart appeared in the 2020 "Britain's Got Talent Christmas Spectacular.[13] Hart appeared in the BBC magic show "Pure Magic".[14] In 2024 Hart appears in series 17 of Britain's Got Talent as part of Magicians Assemble, alongside Elizabeth, Colin McCleod, and Aidan McCann.[15]

Hart appeared as a guest expert talking about magic in the Victorian era and Charles Dickens in the 2023 David Harewood documentary "Dickens: Phantoms and Fiction".

Theatre

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Hart has written and performed 7 solo shows, each premiering at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He is known for his unusual performance style that mixes unusual, original magic with storytelling and theatricality, his performance style having been described as somewhere between Hannibal Lecter and Tim Burton[16] His shows include:

  • The Outsider (2013) (directed by Anthony Owen, the executive producer of Derren Brown) which was nominated for the Time Out and Soho Theatre TO&ST cabaret award.[17]
  • The Vanishing Boy (2014) (co-written by Al Joshua),
  • Belief? (2017) which was a total sell-out and appeared on The Scotsman's list of top magic shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2017.[18]
  • The Nutshell (a highly unusual magic show inspired by the work of Frances Glessner Lee) which was critically acclaimed,[19][20] running at the Edinburgh Fringe 2018 and The Adelaide Fringe Festival
  • "Wonder" (2020) A 65 Date UK tour[21]
  • "Ben Hart: Jadoo" (2023), a show based on traditional Indian magic. In "Jadoo" Hart goes back to his roots to explore his Indian heritage. The show premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe and toured the UK, and France. The show was unique in magic for its staging as Theatre in the round[22]
  • "Ben Hart: Hex" will premiere at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and will see Hart curate his favourite material from his decade of Fringe performances.[23]

Since 2015, Hart has performed as part of Impossible[24] produced by Jamie Hendry, playing two seasons at the Noël Coward Theatre in London's West End, Dubai Opera, Singapore, and Smart Araneta Coliseum in the Philippines. He has also performed his act at The Royal Albert Hall, London Palladium and Wembley Arena.

Hart was awarded Best Magic Show of the Adelaide Fringe Festival 2022.

Magic consultant

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As a magic consultant and illusionist, Hart has written and created magic tricks and special effects for TV, theatre and film. His credits include Trick Artist for Channel 4 starring Benjamin Earl, The Egg Trick starring Ian McKellen, Killer Magic for BBC Three, BBC1's Now You See It, and Not Going Out.[25]

Hart is the co-author of "The Darkest Corners", a specialist book for magicians that explores some of Hart's routines and performance theory.

Hart was the magic and pickpocketing consultant for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One[26]

In the world of theatre, Ben Hart's special effects design credits include:

Awards and accolades

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References

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  1. ^ "Ben Hart on his new career as a magician". Daily Echo. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Ben Hart: The Magic Man –". 24 March 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  3. ^ "Magic touch – Ben Hart on his new career as a magician". The Northern Echo. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  4. ^ Brennan, Andrew. "Young Magician of the Year". The Magic Circle, the world's premier magic society. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  5. ^ Brennan, Andrew (22 March 2015). "Results". The Young Magician of the Year. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  6. ^ Walker, Danny (28 April 2015). "What happens when you let two TV magicians loose in the Mirror Online offices?". mirror. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  7. ^ Gannagé-Stewart, Hannah (25 January 2016). "Magician Ben Hart to front BBC3 Objective series". Broadcast. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  8. ^ ben hart the voice
  9. ^ Episode September 2017 [dead link‍]
  10. ^ "PHOTOS: MYX DAILY TOP 10 INTERNATIONAL EDITION WITH VJ JC OCTOBER 10, 2017 (BEHIND-THE-SCENES)". YOUR CHOICE. YOUR MUSIC. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  11. ^ Tabalo, Sandrine (23 September 2015). "RTS Cambridge sees the first 360-degree magic trick". Royal Television Society. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  12. ^ "Britain's Got Talent magical finalist Ben Hart".
  13. ^ https://www.itv.com/britainsgottalent/articles/join-us-for-a-night-of-festive-fun-with-the-bgt-christmas-spectacular [bare URL]
  14. ^ "BBC One - Pure Magic". BBC. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  15. ^ Tutton, Charlotte (25 May 2024). "BGT's Magicians Assemble have been on show before - and one star faced backlash". The Mirror. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  16. ^ "WhatReview // Ben Hart - the Nutshell // Edinburgh Fringe 2018". 23 August 2018.
  17. ^ "TO&ST Announce Shortlist For Edinburgh Fringe's Only Cabaret Prize". > This Is Cabaret. 18 August 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  18. ^ "Top magic shows to see at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe". The Scotsman. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  19. ^ https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-scotsman/20180825/282626033541477. Retrieved 20 October 2023 – via PressReader. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ^ "Fringe Review: Ben Hart - the Nutshell". 22 February 2019.
  21. ^ "Britain's Got Talent magician Ben Hart to create mind-blowing new magic for Edinburgh Fringe". 3 February 2020.
  22. ^ "Ben Hart: Jadoo cabaret review – Magic meets heritage for exquisite production | News & Features - The List". list.co.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  23. ^ "First shows revealed for Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024". Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  24. ^ Creative, Feast (8 July 2016). "Impossible Official Website". Impossible Official Website. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  25. ^ "Not Going Out (TV Series 2006– ) - IMDb". IMDb.
  26. ^ "Who Created the Magic Tricks in Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning". One Ahead. 28 July 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  27. ^ Clapp, Susannah (1 August 2021). "Bagdad Cafe review – magic and miracles in the desert". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  28. ^ "Ben Hart: 'I'm always happy to help people out with a beheading' | News & Features - The List". list.co.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  29. ^ Hart, Ben (28 October 2016). "I've had sleepless nights over the spinning head in The Exorcist". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  30. ^ Urwin, Rosamund (30 October 2017). "How a stage version of The Exorcist is recreating its biggest scares". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  31. ^ Armstrong, Stephen (22 October 2017). "Theatre: The Exorcist and The Elvis Dead". The Times & The Sunday Times. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  32. ^ "Cast and creative – A Christmas Carol". Royal Shakespeare Company. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
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