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The Ultimate Illusion: How a Woman Fooled the Magic Circle
In a captivating tale of deception and eventual reconciliation, Sophie Lloyd, a former actress, successfully deceived the renowned Magic Circle society in 1991 by masquerading as a man. Decades after her expulsion, the Circle located the former actress to formally apologize and reinstate her membership, marking a significant moment in the organization’s history.
A Moment of Redemption
Lloyd expressed to Sky News that her reinstatement signifies the society has “made good on something that was wrong,” highlighting the importance of acknowledging past injustices.
Infiltrating the Exclusive Magic Group
How did Sophie Lloyd manage to infiltrate this exclusive society, which today boasts prominent magicians such as David Copperfield and Dynamo? In March 1991, she took the entrance examination disguised as a teenage boy named Raymond Lloyd.
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“I’d played a boy before,” she stated, adding that “it took months of preparation” to secretly join the Circle’s ranks, nearly six months before the official vote to admit women.
“Really, going back 30 years, men’s clubs were like, you know, just something you accepted.”
The Men-Only Rule
The Magic Circle had a men-only rule since its inception in 1905, based on the belief that women were incapable of keeping secrets. Lloyd, aware of the frustration among female magicians, took on the challenge to prove women could excel in magic just as well as their male counterparts.
The concept originated from a double act devised by Jenny Winstanley, a successful magician who herself was denied membership. Winstanley realized that this audacious ruse would only work with a young woman posing as a teenage boy and subsequently found Lloyd through an acting class.
Crafting the Illusion
Lloyd explained, “We had to have a wig made… the main thing was my face, I had plumpers made on a brace to bring his jawline down.”
Challenges and Deception
To conceal her feminine hands, she performed magic while wearing gloves, a considerable challenge, especially for sleight of hand. Her true test came when her examiner invited her out for a drink, requiring her to feign laryngitis.
- “After the exam, which was 20 minutes, he invited Jenny and I – she played my manager – and I sat there for one hour and three quarters and had to say ‘sorry, I’ve got a bad voice’.”
Raymond Lloyd successfully passed the examination, and Sophie received his membership certificate.
However, in October of the same year, as rumors began swirling that the society would open its doors to both sexes, she and Jenny decided to reveal the deception. The reaction was not favorable.
The Fallout and Eventual Acceptance
Instead of receiving praise, members reacted with outrage, and somewhat ironically, Raymond Lloyd was expelled shortly before women were finally admitted into the Magic Circle.
- Lloyd recalled, “We got a letter… Jenny was hurt… she was snubbed by people she actually knew, that was hurtful. However, things have really changed now…”
Three decades later, the Magic Circle launched a nationwide search to apologize to Lloyd, eventually tracking her down in Spain.
Jenny Winstanley tragically passed away 20 years ago in a car accident. In addition to Sophie receiving her certificate, a special show will honor Winstanley’s contribution to magic.
Lloyd reflected, “Jenny was a wonderful, passionate person. She would have loved to be here. It’s for her really.”