VIDEO: Illusionist Darcy Oake on how Britain’s Got Talent changed his life and his upcoming Edinburgh and Glasgow shows

Master illusionist and Britain’s Got Talent star Darcy Oake is touring the UK, playing Edinburgh and Glasgow on March 22 and 23.

He made supermodel Heidi Klum levitate on America’s Got Talent: The Champions and last week made Good Morning Britain’s Kate Garraway disappear on live TV.

Here, he answers our questions – and shows us one of his tricks.

How did you first get into magic?

I started performing magic when I was really young, probably about seven or eight years old. It was actually completely by accident, I was at home and my dad was playing with a deck of cards. He knows zero magic, no tricks or anything. He told me to pick a card, so I picked one, looked at it, put it back in the pack and he was playing it off like he was a pro magician and said he was going to find my card. He did it and I was absolutely blown away, I had no idea how to explain how he did it.

He tortured me, wouldn’t tell me the secret for months and then finally I learned it was a complete accident! That month where I didn’t know how it worked played with my head and I was just so fascinated and adamant on learning how to do it. It’s crazy to look back on, if that trick hadn’t turned out like that…

How excited are you to do shows in Scotland?

I’ve never been to Edinburgh before, I’ll be at The Caves which is such a cool dynamic venue. We’re really trying to change the perception of what an illusion and magic show is. It’s really exciting.

I’ve been to Glasgow once before, on the last tour, and I remember the audience in Scotland being so vocal and it was such a cool vibe, a cool dynamic and they were so into it. There was good back and forth banter. We had the day off afterwards so we went out and I remember everyone being so friendly and fun. I’m so excited to be back.

How much did BGT change your life?

It completely changed the game and the whole course of my career. I had zero idea of what was going to happen after it. I went on it hoping not to get buzzed! To have it pan out this way is absolutely a dream come true.

I was working before but artistically unsatisfied. People weren’t necessarily coming to see me, I was being put in front of them doing cruise ships and spots on other people’s shows. I didn’t have a fanbase, and wasn’t selling tickets. BGT flipped the whole thing and people started to come to see me.

How difficult is it to come up with new ideas for illusions?

That’s the whole name of the game, coming up with a new spin on a classic artform. For my show, people are going to be standing, moving around the room. It’s very immersive, not like you’re sitting watching a theatre show. You’re completely involved an immersed in it. That’s the whole thing, trying to come up with a new way to approach the craft.

Are you constantly thinking of magic or can you switch off?

Because it’s my passion performing and creating material, I find that relaxing. Just sitting there coming up with new ideas and figuring out how they’re going to work and then testing them in front of an audience is a never-ending process which I love. It never feels like work to me. The time just flies by because it’s so enjoyable.

How does it feel stepping out on stage ready to blow the audience’s mind?

It’s funny, when you do a tried, tested and true piece of material you get really excited to go out and do it because you have the previous times that it worked to reference. You know that usually you get this type of reaction, and the exciting thing too is trying new bits. It’s never 100% the first time you do it. That idea needs to be tested in front of an audience multiple times so you can figure out how it works, the nuances and what makes the audience react in a certain way.

That’s where I get really excited. Trying out a new bit and figuring out where to take it and how to evoke that emotion from the audience. You’re nurturing this idea and making it the best it can be. I live for the whole journey.

Darcy Oake – Edge of Reality comes to The Caves in Edinburgh on 22nd March and St Luke’s on 23rd March. For tickets visit darcyoake.com/live