THE SKY FROM THIS WINDOW
A magic show by telephone

During the lockdowns of 2020, I received an invitation to develop a magic performance that would happen over the telephone, for an audience of people phoning at a particular time.
The sky from this window was a live 15minute performance. It began with a text about the sea view from a window in Brighton, and about the strangeness of a place called England. I would then ask people to think of a number, which, as if by magic, seemed to appear written in the clouds of the Brighton sky.

With thanks to Emilie Gallier for supporting the development of the work, through the project Dial a spectacle.

 
I am here in Brighton, in the south of England, looking outside my window. Although it is getting dark, I can see, in the distance, a group of clouds. Yes, there they are. And I’ve noticed a strange event that happens every evening, and it’s happening right now: that is, the clouds seem to take on the shape of whatever I am thinking. It’s very simple, really. If I think of a word, for example the word ‘book’ I can see…. yes, I can now see the swirls of white cloud arranging themselves… yes, they spell the word ‘book’, B, O, O, K, clearly....
It’s not a hallucination. I don’t quite know how it works. Perhaps I am simply looking in the sky for suggestions of letters, and then thinking of associated words.
But I cannot be sure: I don’t know if what comes first is what’s in the sky, or what’s in our heads.

Performances
22 Oct 2020 The sky from this window (performance via telephone), as part of Dial a spectacle
20 Dec 2020 The sky from this window (performance via telephone), as part of International Magic Festival, Edinburgh

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