Girio-nimo! Getting ‘Close Up’ with London’s hottest magician

Just a few months after dazzling his bride by performing magic during his wedding in shining gold shoes and turning his groom’s speech into a waterfall of money – Girish Tailor, from London, has won a prestigious magician’s prize in the capital.

On Tuesday 8th November, ‘Magic Girio’ as he is known by his friends, struck gold by winning The London Society of Magician’s (LSM’s) ‘Close Up Competition’.

LSM’s Close Up Competition was attended by a packed audience, hosted at Davenports Magic Shop in Charing Cross, the oldest continuously owned magic shop in the world, for which the shop owns a Guinness World Record.

The award comes at a great time for Girish, as he prepares for his first performance to support the Asian Community at the Darji Mitra Mandal on Friday 25th November – of which he is a Member.

The 31-year-old and his performing partner, 35-year-old Hemmel Amrania, have been performing magic for a few years.

Speaking to the Asian Express, he said: “When I was growing up I used to watch David Blaine on TV and I was awestruck by some of the things he did.

“What changed for me was when I watched a magician at a work’s Christmas party and I saw him perform and it got me hooked. That feeling of ‘how did that just happen?’ and the wonder and amazement that I felt was really overwhelming.”

Hemmel is married to a cousin of Girish’s but it was during a chance conversation that the magical mates realised they had something in common.

“I was staying at his old flat and there was a conversation about a big magic convention called the Blackpool Magic convention.

“I was just getting into magic at the time, and we were both interested in attending. We just happened to be talking about the great magician Harry Houdini and realised we both loved magic.

“Subsequently, we both went and from there we have both done a magic course with the International Magic Shop in London.”

Girish continued: “I guess the bug has just kept going. We’ve performed for friends and family and joined the London Society of magicians together.

“I won the competition last week and it’s a very exciting time for us. I want to perform for the community I’m part of and I’m humbled to be awarded with the prize.”

Pravin Jivan, President of the Darji Mitra Mandal, comments: “The Darji Mitra Mandal are delighted to be hosting Girish’s first show as an award-winning magician.

“We’re proud that one of our own Members has achieved such great success and are humbled that he wanted to put on a show to support our community.”

Girio is not a part of the magic circle yet but ‘would love to be’.

“I’d be honoured to be a member of it,” he said. “I’m looking to join next year as an apprentice and from then I’d have a mentor. Then I’d pass an audition and become a member.

“All my family and friends are very supportive. A friend’s relative once called me ‘an interesting item’ and it kind of sums me up a little bit because people who know me well would say I’m a person who likes to wear things that are a little bit unusual or would say something that’s a little bit quirky.”