Kieron Johnson

The easiest way to spot a real magician isn’t the trick, it’s what happens when something goes wrong. Kieron Johnson joins us to talk about the skills you can’t fake: audience management, timing, trust and the grind of making strong material work night after night. Kieron has been at the top of modern close-up creation for years and he’s also performing in the West End production “Come Alive, The Greatest Showman,” where he runs multiple sets across parlour, stage, close-up and an eye-melting bubble show.

We get into the thinking behind his signature “impossible object” magic, including fire-to-ice production (To The Max / Reborn), signed card to ice (Re-Maxed Isolation) and why he believes Too Hot To Handle becomes vastly stronger when the can is genuinely hot. Along the way, Kieron breaks down how he prototypes effects like an engineer, how he chooses material based on the audience in front of him and why souvenirs and nostalgia props can turn a trick into a lifelong memory.

Then we hit the hot debate: phone magic and electronic magic. Kieron argues that technology can weaken fundamentals and that “convenient” methods often come with a hidden cost when they fail. Whether you agree or disagree, you’ll leave with a sharper sense of what makes close-up magic feel real, what defines professional performance and how to build a set that can survive any room. 

Kieron’s Desert Island Tricks: 

Welcome package. Estimation Aces 

1. To the Max / Re-born
2. Re-maxed Isolation 
3. Too Hot to Handle 
4. Isolated 
5. Cell 
6. Linking Polos / Lifesavers 
7. Linking Rings 
8. Card to chocolate bar 

Banishment. Phone / Electronic Magic 

Book. Simply Harkey 

Item. Bubbles 

Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk