Like most magicians I had never heard of Darcy Oakes until I saw his mind blowing, gutsy
Dove act on Britain’s got talent.  In this article we will share with the history and updates of
this stage magician who has gained popularity around the world.

 

 

A Canadian illusionist with a dare devil flair was discovered when he appeared
on 2014’s Britain’s Got Talent. His fresh approach to an age-old art art of magic
has earned him multiple awards, including the prestigious People’s Choice Gold
Medal, which Oake received from the Pacific Coast Association of Magicians at
the age of 16, besting a group of professional magicians.

 

DARCY Oake advanced threw  Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions star-studded
final and had his hat in the ring to be crowned the ultimate champion.

The illusionist wowed first judges on BGT in 2014 and on the American version of
the show. In this article from MagicEveryMonth.com we want to give you everything
you want to know about this popular young magician.

Who is Darcy Oake?

Like most professional magicians, Candaian Darcy Oake’s interest in magic was
sparked at the tender age of seven when his father, award-winning sports broadcaster
Scott Oake, fooled him with a card trick.  This simple card trick started him on a journey
to becoming the popular magician he is today.

As he moved into his teens, Darcy, 31, became the youngest person in history to win
the Pacific Rim Professional Stage Challenge at the age of 16.

The accolade was followed shortly by the coveted People’s Choice Gold Medal Award,
however, Darcy set his sights on the legendary Magic Castle in Hollywood.

At the age of 18 – before he was legally allowed to, Darcy headlined the famous
nightclub for magicians, which also houses the Academy of Magical Arts.

 

The Winnipeg born native headlined his first national tour of Canada two years later, performing 77 shows in more than 25 cities.

 

His stint in Canada led to venues around the world from Las Vegas to New York, Europe and Asia.

 

When was Darcy Oake on
Britain’s Got Talent?
(The Champions)

In 2014 he appeared on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent, impressing the judges
and the audience with his electrifying magic routine.

He came fifth in the final, which was won by musical theater
group Collabro.

Then, in 2016 he made a guest appearance on America’s Got Talent.

Two years later Darcy headlined ten shows at the world famous Calgary
Stampede Canada, performing in front of more than 20,000 people
per night.

 

Did Darcy Oake compete on America’s
Got Talent:  The Champions?

The magician appeared on America’s Got Talent: The Champions and wowed the
judges as he made Heidi Klum float mid-air.

Simon Cowell and Mel B gave him a standing ovation, however, he failed to make
it through to the next round.

Viewers chose to send through opera singer Paul Potts instead of him.

Did Darcy perform for the Queen?

In April 2016 Darcy performed for the entire Royal Family at a private dinner for the
Queens 90^th birthday.

It’s not known what exactly what he included in his act, but Darcy said it was “surreal”.

Taking to social media he said: “It was the most surreal and amazing experience of my
career / life! Looking back its literally amazing where, hard work, tenacity, and persistence
can take you. If you would have told a 15 year old me that one day I would be entertaining the
Royal Family inside the Queens castle I obviously wouldn’t have believed it!”

He added: “The Royal Family was amazingly nice and this is a story that someday I will be
telling my Grandchildren!”  From all indication

 

The America’s Got Talent judge opens up about participating in Darcy
Oake’s levitating act

After this Darcy Oake Levitation act social media was buzzing, everyone asking
How did Dacry Oake Levitate Heidi?

After six years of judging America’s Got Talent, Heidi Klum has become somewhat of a
guinea pig as she bravely takes the stage to help competing acts with their daring routines.
And the supermodel’s most recent stunt is by far one of her bravest.

On Monday’s episode of AGT: The Champions, Klum participated in illusionist Darcy
Oake’s levitating act by floating above the stage completely unsupported.

“For the levitation act, one minute Howie [Mandel] and this guy from the audience were
holding me up and when I turned my head to the audience, I could see their faces and everyone
going ‘ahhhhhhh’ because I guess I was floating,” Klum tells PEOPLE. “It was amazing to watch it on TV later and be able to see the act from the audience’s point of view.”




 

MAGICIAN Darcey Oakes moved Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions’ fans to tears as he
opened up about his brother’s shock death in tonight’s final.

The 32-year-old star told the judges and studio audience that he wanted to use his platform
to remember his late sibling, who was his best friend for 23 years.

 

In typical BGT style, there was a pulse-pounding display where Oak was
trapped in a box and suspended in the air. With only his hands visible, Oake
had just 56 seconds to escape before the box exploded.

Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon were seen cowering in horror as it looked
like Oake had fallen victim  to his own act. Obviously, it was all part of the effect
as he soon emerged unharmed to the rapturous applause of the audience.

However, not everyone was impressed. Viewers soon posted on Twitter and
claimed to know how he pulled off the stunt.   Knowing how and doing it is two
different things.  A performance incubuses much more then simply just
knowing how.

 

THE FINAL ACT OF THE COMPETITION

His final performance is arguably the most memorable magic routine ever aired on
TV anytime, anywhere, in the world.  For sure those that heard the story and saw the
routine will never forget it. He held up an emotional photo that showed the two men
holding hands, his voice cracking with emotion as he admitted that they used to do
that way into adulthood and it is the one moment he would relive forever if he could.

 

He continued: “On March 28 2011 at 7am  I got a phone call from my mum, and it’s
one that replays in my head daily.

“She didn’t have to say a word, I picked up the phone and I already knew that Bruce
was gone.”

Darcey’s illusion helped him recreate one of his most treasured memories, with the
magician suddenly disappearing behind a sheet and being replaced by a young boy.

 

 

 

The little boy then headed over to another part of the stage pulling up a sheet beneath a large photo frame to reveal another child, who held his hand.

 

As the photo of Darcy & his brother suddenly appeared
in the previously empty photo frame.

Then Darcy made his presence known
from the other side of the studio, leaving the
audience in tears and speechless.  If you have
not seen a video of this routine, it is a must
see!

 

 

We have the video below for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drawing on a rotating cast Darcy Oake was  joined in Vancouver by mentalist Colin Cloud, illusionist An Ha Lim, comedy magician Jeff Hobson, and daredevil escapologist Jonathan Goodwin.

After wrapping  up a Broadway run of The Illusionists, Winnipeg-born illusionist Darcy Oake is not one to simply rest on his laurels. For while he considers his Broadway appearance one of the pinnacles for his career, he is back on the road on a North American tour of the show, which will included performances in virtually every
major city.

“There is zero time off for the holidays,” said Oake in a phone interview from New York City of the grueling Broadway run which closed on December 30. The next day, the tour show began.  It kicked off in Edmonton
for the start of the tour.

Calling it a “pretty hectic” schedule is an understatement, but Oake is looking forward
to joining this latest touring show.

 

“The nice thing about the show is that it changes quite a bit depending on where it is, and which acts are in the show,” says Oake, who estimates he has appeared in ten different versions of The Illusionists over the years.

For the Vancouver shows Oake was joined by An Ha Lim (The Manipulator), Colin Cloud (The Deductionist),  Adam Trent (Magician) and Jonathan Goodwin (The Daredevil). Having previously been billed as “The Grand Illusionist”, in this iteration, Oake will be known as the “Modern Interpreter”.

And while all the illusionists in the show will perform separately, there are also moments where the
quintet comes together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“That’s the wonderful thing about this show, because you get to see five people like that
together on stage and everybody is highlighted in their individual portion, and then there
are a handful of bits which involve everybody,” says Oake.

 

It is this ever-changing dynamic that Oake says keeps things interesting in The Illusionists.

 

“Because of the wide variety of material and the distinctive styles of the performers, every
portion of it is so different,” he says. “It’s fast-moving, it’s quick. It never gets boring for an
audience.”

 

 

“Because of the wide variety of material and the distinctive styles of the performers, every
portion of it is so different. It’s fast-moving, it’s quick. It never gets boring for an audience.

” Darcy Oake “The Grand Illusionist”.in Winnipeg, it may have been his father who quite
innocently set a seven-year old Oake on his magic trajectory, but it was one of magic’s biggest
names who had a significant impact.

“David Copperfield was definitely the guy that I idolized as a kid and I watched all of his stuff
and studied it,” says Oake.

But while Copperfield may have left an impression, Oake says it was just as important to
find his own voice in the world of magic, and how it translates to an audience.

“It’s hard to connect with a crowd until you figure out what you have to say, and that
doesn’t come until you’re gained some life experiences,” he says. “I think the amount of
shows that I did as a kid, opening up to it, and understanding what works and what doesn’t
work really made a difference. It’s all about connecting with the audience and figuring out
who you can be true to yourself at the same time.”

Finding his own unique voice quickly propelled Oake into the spotlight with a career that
has now included performances around the world, a fifth place finish on Britain’s Got Talent
in 2014, a private performance for Queen Elizabeth, and eventually to Broadway and beyond.

Oake credits shows like the Got Talent series and Netflix for magic’s resurgence. “It’s
really become rejuvenated and popular again,” he says.

With its recent gains in status, Oake has also seen a movement away from the term
“magician” in favor of “illusionist”.

“Essentially a magician and illusionist are the same thing, but if you really wanted
to differentiate, an illusionist would be doing sort of a larger, grandiose, stage
theatrics,” he explains.

And whatever you do, don’t call them tricks.

 

“It diminishes the level of effort that goes into it,” says Oake. “Whether it’s the
psychology behind it, or the nuances, or the details, or the rehearsal; it’s so much
more than a trick.”

 

Despite his appearances on television, Oake says it is appearing in live shows like
The Illusionists that give him the most satisfaction. Ironically perhaps, it is the
television medium that can be magic’s worst enemy.

“There is a certain aspect of magic on TV which is very easy for people to assume
it’s all camera tricks, even when it’s not,” he says. “When you show someone something
impossible and they’re watching it through a screen, it’s easy for them to assume it was
done with editing or camera tricks. Whereas if you’re watching something live or in
person, you can’t debate what you’re seeing.”   Only fools argue with facts.

For Oake fans – and they are legion if you consider the nearly 100 million people who
have watched his YouTube clips of his performance on Britain’s Got Talent – his love
for working with doves continues to The Illusionist stage.

“That act holds a special place in my heart,” he says. “It was the one that really
changed the game for me. It will definitely be part of The Illusionists.”

At MagicEveryMonth.com we will continue to keep you in the loop
on the career of Darcy Oakes.