Taking part in our Music Hall shows on May 9th and 10th will be John Styles MBE. John is a seasoned entertainer, well known for his music hall performances, as well as being a highly regarded magician and puppeteer. His interest in magic has taken him from performing for his family as a boy through to joining the London Society of Magicians Club as a student where he gained an informal apprenticeship with “Oscar Oswald” in his basement magic shop, selling second-hand magic tricks, ventriloquist’s dummies and Punch and Judy puppets. This led on to a long and distinguished career in magic and performance, becoming a Gold Star member of the Magic Inner Circle and President of the International Brotherhood of Magicians – British Ring. John Styles is one of the few British magicians to have received the Magic Circle’s prestigious Maskelyne Award, presented to recognise exceptional services to magic.

John has performed all over the world, including to royalty, as a magician and music hall performer. But he has never left behind his love of Punch and Judy for which he has also gained international recognition, being one of the leading exponents and performers of Punch and Judy in Britain. He has been an ambassador for Punch and Judy all over the world, receiving an MBE in 2004 for “Services to the Arts (Especially Punch and Judy Shows)”.

Commenting on the MBE, John said: “As people well know, Mr Punch is renowned for his strong political views and for him to be recognised by the establishment is a nice surprise. I can honestly say that I am as pleased as punch.”

At Brick Lane Music Hall John will be performing a music hall routine as well as a series of magic tricks. If you are wondering why the duck has to wear a blindfold, it is because, working so much with the unruly Mr Punch, John takes no chances with the duck. He insists he wears the blindfold when he assists him with the card trick “So he can’t cheat”.