Nov 24, 2015
David Ben is a Canadian stage magician, sleight of hand artist,
author, magic historian, creative consultant and former tax
lawyer.
David was educated at the University of Toronto (BA), the
University of Western Ontario (LLB), and the London School of
Economics (LLM).
We talk about his decision to leave his law practice to practice
magic.
David is the rare magician who, like Ricky Jay or Teller, of the
duo "Penn and Teller," has an innovative, approach to magic that at
once respects the historic traditions of magic but pushes the art
form forward.
David's stage show "The Conjuror," had its world premiere at the
Shaw Festival in 1996. The show had outstanding box office and
critical reviews and has been mounted several time since then.
His path to success was never easy, and he talks candidly about the
time he seriously considered quitting the Arts because of the
financial strain it put on his young family.
If you saw "Possible Worlds" during the 2015 Stratford Festival
season, you saw David’s magic integrated into the show thanks to
director Mitchell Cushman.