Tuesday 8th September 2026 marked the occasion of the Comedy Magic & Cabaret Magic Competition organised by Manchester’s Magic Club & Magical Society for Magician’s & Mind Readers “The Order of the Magi”
The four entrants (pictured above with Magi President Matt Price centre) to the competition were:
Jonathan Royle, Guy Samuels, Anthony Park & Magic Chas
JOIN THE ORDER OF THE MAGI = https://www.orderofthemagi.co.uk/membership
Videos of all the acts can be seen a little further down this page.
Although I entered last nights Competition which was compered and run excellently by our Competitions Officer Max Townsend, in my roles as both Public Relations Officer and also Entertainment’s Officer I still had to arrive extra early at The Irish World Heritage Centre where proceedings took place to ensure that the room was set up properly for the event…
Given my Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) and other disabilities and the fact I use a stick to aid my mobility it was of course impossible to set the room up myself and so many sincere thanks must go to the staff at The Irish World Heritage Centre for helping me to get the room set up in the manner I desired.
Set up of the room was almost finished in the picture above I just needed to set up the camera for filming which I did next as shown in image below where it can be seen on its tripod behind me…
So without further ado here are the videos of the four very different and all extremely talented performers who took part in the 2026 Order of the Magi Cabaret Magic & Comedy Magic Competition starting with Act Number one, yours truly, Yes me JONATHAN ROYLE…
(And yes for the record I was in extreme pain throughout which I hope was not to obvious to those watching such are the joys of my various health conditions)
On the bright side although I did experience several FND triggered body spasms during my act and was in extreme pain throughout I am just delighted that I did not throw anything on the floor or fall over or indeed have a seizure…
For those unaware of the various issues I am living with check out this info page
Disabled Hypnotist & Magician with Disabilities Reveals Facts about FND = Functional Neurological Disorder, Fibromyalgia & Sleep Apnoea
One thing I do know for certain is that Laughter can be a great natural remedy for people like myself who have Chronic Pain and long term illnesses such as Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), Fibromyalgia and indeed many other things.
Act number two was Magic Chas who quite literally only decided to enter at 6pm on the evening of the event having heard that one of the entrants had unfortunately had to drop out.
We then had a short interval and after the refreshment & comfort break the next act to perform was Anthony Park
And then our final entrant of the evening was Guy Samuels
Then it was time for the all four of the Judges (Andrew Normansell, Adrian Sullivan, Ian Hirst & Ian Fenton) to make their final decisions before the winners were announced
The Best Comedy Magic Act Trophy for 2026 was awarded to Guy Samuels
A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON COMEDY MAGIC ACT WINNER GUY SAMUELS
Jewish Magician Guy Samuels aged 39, was born and bred in Liverpool but moved to Manchester at 15 and now lives in Whitefield.
He always loved magic, but only really got into it as a hobby around 18, when his great-uncle Mick left him all his magic books and tricks in his will — that was his starting point for learning and performing.
Guy cut his teeth at the open mic nights at the old Pure Magic bar in Manchester, then found out about The Order of the Magi Manchester’s Magic Club & Magical Society for Magicians through the late Magician Joe Abrahams and joined soon after.
After more than a decade doing it as a side hustle — mostly children's birthday parties — Guy has spent the last few months finally doing magic full time as a professional, now also performing at schools, weddings and corporate events.
And the Best Cabaret Magic Act Trophy was awarded to Anthony Park
BACKGROUND ON BEST CABARET MAGIC ACT WINNER ANTHONY PARK
Anthony aged 56 lives in Springhead Oldham and Magic has been his hobby since he was 13.
His magical heroes were Paul Daniels and Tommy Cooper.
All through his life Anthony has entertained his family and friends at parties, nights out & special events etc.
During the 90’s he was a member of the Oldham magic club.
More recently he has performed magic on stage at Guide Bridge Theatre in old thyme music hall and in their annual Christmas cracker shows.
And of course the best 2026 Magic Competition Compere Award was presented to our very own Max Townsend
JOIN THE ORDER OF THE MAGI = https://www.orderofthemagi.co.uk/membership
This blog page was originally posted at 11.30am on Tuesday 9th September 2026…
A detailed review of all the acts that took part during the competition is currently being written by Magi Member Ian Hirst and will be added to this page as soon as it is ready….
For now here is a picture of the two Winners with the current Order of the Magi President Matt Price
And here is a picture Magi Member Alan Mehta kindly sent me which I like caught during my performance
MAGIC REVIEW: Manchester’s Magic Club & Magical Society for Magician’s The Order of the Magi’s Comedy & Cabaret Competition 2026
The Magi Comedy & Cabaret Competition
JOIN THE ORDER OF THE MAGI = https://www.orderofthemagi.co.uk/membership
JOIN THE ORDER OF THE MAGI = https://www.orderofthemagi.co.uk/membership
And finally here are all four entrants again of the 2026 Competition with Current Order of the Magi President Matt Price
Pictured from Left to right:
Jonathan Royle, Guy Samuels, President Matt Price, Anthony Park & Magic Chas
