I assume that most of you readers know how I feel about Shawn Farquhar. So what I'm saying a little later may seem like blasphemy and hypocrisy on my part. But I am willing to bear the verbal abuse I'm going to face.
Shawn Farquhar's short act was really, really good. Not only was it a solid trick with a nice dramatic frame and call backs. Not only was the method implied solid and practical. Not only did it fool Teller. But Shawn Farquhar didn't come across as a dick who looks down on everyone. In fact he came across as genuinely nice and humble.
I'm in awe at writing this. So I am trying to find excuses to still stick to my opinion towards this man. Here are some: Maybe because he was dwarfed in size by Penn Jillette and Jonathan Ross that he appeared more humble. Perhaps it was his childlike enthusiasm for magic that won me over. Or could it be his genuine happiness after Penn announced that Shawn has fooled them. Or it was the the condensed amount of time that the FISM winner had that disabled him to play out his character.
Or... and this is by no means a statement that is carved in stone... it is that either Shawn has changed after FISM, or that my first presumption towards his person was wrong.
I still think that Shawn is not using his natural speaking voice. It's still a higher than normal pitch which gives off that phony vibe. But this time it didn't bother me.
I've been told by a friend who personally met Shawn during a seminar in France, that he appeared like an honest man who was kind and helpful. And I trust that friend's opinion. So I am willing to maybe looking into me having had wrong assumptions. And seeing Mr. Farquhar doing such a dense little piece of really good card magic is what might pull me back. More of that Shawn. Bravo!
Ha...I did think of youm when I saw this on TV.
ReplyDeleteHe came across really well, did a decent trick and had real charisma.
I do think that outside of their comfort zone of stage illusions P & T are a bit easily fooled but good luck to the boy, he did well.
His squirrel-like enthusiasm and mugging at the end was fairly irritating.
ReplyDeleteI've worked with him twice and the second time I thought, like you, that he'd changed or maybe I misjudged him but by the end of the day he'd gone back to being a smug, arrogant prick again.
ReplyDelete