Penn and Teller perform first UK show in 16 years

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Wed, 14 Jul 2010 9:09a.m.

Penn and Teller perform their magic

Penn and Teller perform their magic

Comic illusionists Penn and Teller did a surprise stunt in London's Westfield shopping centre Tuesday to promote their forthcoming London dates.

The American magicians shocked onlookers as they levitated a member of the audience.

It's a trick the duo have be doing since the very start of their career, and something that will be on the menu at their string of London dates alongside many other favourites.

"Some stuff is fairly new and some stuff is really old," says Penn.

"We are doing the levitation thing you will see later. Teller will be swallowing a hundred needles and six feet of thread and vomiting the needles up threaded, we'll be putting him in a water tank while I do a card trick and drowning him. I'll be doing a monologue about the carnival, I'll be putting a nail gun through my hand and we'll be doing a lot of monkeying with audience members, so a lot of stuff," says Penn.

The five-date run, which begins Wednesday at the Hammersmith Apollo, will be the duo's first ever UK dates for 16 years.

Both their TV and live shows have won them fans from all over the world, and pulled in the crowds - their almost ten year residency at The Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas - has proved that. But what makes their shows so special?

"Oh, I don't know. I think maybe we are the only magic act that's done shows, without insulting people you know. Jerry Seinfeld says, 'Oh magic acts are, here is a quarter and now it's gone, you are a jerk, and now it's back, you are an idiot, shows over.' We don't do any of that," says Penn.

"We try to do nothing that insults the audience's intelligence in any way. We don't say we are death-defying, we don't say we have real powers. We don't say we read body language. We just say we're doing tricks and swindles and we are very straight forward about that. I think that lack of insulting the audience at any level is maybe close to unique to us," he adds.

The Penn and Teller show runs at the Hammersmith Apollo from Wednesday through to Sunday.

APTN

Watch Penn and Teller perform their levitation trick live for the cameras.

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