Sorcerer’s Apprentice Episode Three

"The arrival of French magicians Eric Leblon and Etienne Pradier brighten things up"

Sorcerer’s Apprentice Episode three begins with the sorcerees (as the students are now referred to) summoned by our Sorcerer Max Somerset to the grand theatre. Todays lessons, we are told, are to concentrate on transformation. Max demonstrates this by transforming a slice of carrot into a live goldfish when dropping it into a glass of water, followed by turning three doves into a large grey rabbit.

As we would expect by now the students, or should I say sorcerees, are split into boys and girls to learn the day’s trick to be performed the following day. Miss Evans shows the girls a rather dull trick where a ball of cotton wool, a squeaker and a length of string are put into a top hat and transformed into a live white mouse. Some laughs are to be had as Ellie lets go of her mouse who promptly disappears up her large Victorian sleeves. It becomes apparent that Megan is afraid of picking up the mouse.

Meanwhile the boys, taught by Tariq Knight, are given a much better “sucker” trick where a silk is turned into an egg. We are led to believe that the silk is merely hidden inside a blown egg until for the finale the egg is cracked into a bowl and shown to be raw.

The next day begins with a workout with creepy Mr Greenhalgh, followed by a lesson in confidence building by Mr Knight and Miss Evans. This involved each student having to perform something outrageous to the others; needless to say Joe jumped straight in with a belly dancing routine.

The morning is brightened up by the arrival of French magicians Eric Leblon and Etienne Pradier complete with comedy bicycle, onions, beret and striped shirt. They demonstrate how to turn a piece of paper into a £20 note followed by a comedy “cracking fingers” and stretchy thumb effect. The “typically French” lunch of frogs legs and snails soon wiped the smile off the sorcerees’ faces, and no doubt guaranteed indigestion for the afternoon performance.

The performances were much improved from the last episode’s disaster. Highlights include Megan predictably overcoming her fear of the mouse, Joe’s unexpected robot dance and Ellie’s dropped wand. The girls won yet again with a score of 446 to the boys 401 out of a maximum of 700.