The precise origin of the linking rings remains elusive, as they have been performed by magicians across diverse cultures throughout history. Speculation points to regions like Turkey, Egypt, the Middle East and China, with a historical trail extending as far back as the 1st century.
I first learned this astonishing illusion years ago when I was still at school. I offer credit to two Pauls for the way this happened. Firstly, an old school pal named Paul who sat next to me in Physics. He kept a set of Paul Daniels’ linking rings inside his school desk amongst his textbooks.
Secondly, Paul Daniels. I would like to pay tribute to the late and inspirational Paul Daniels, a wonderful entertainer who lived and breathed magic. I know this first-hand because, to my delight, many years later I travelled together with Paul and Debbie McGee (and Ron and Martin McMillan, owners of the International Magic emporium) to a magic convention in Germany. The lucky passengers on that flight didn’t just get chicken or fish served in the aisles, they got live inflight magic from Paul Daniels! Paul taught me that day never to go anywhere without a deck of cards.
It seemed rather fitting that my schoolmate Paul tried to demonstrate his linking rings routine before the physics lesson, an excellent demonstration, I thought, of the properties of matter and energy. But Paul hadn’t rehearsed and accidentally revealed to me the principle of how it worked. The allure and enchantment of this illusion still took hold in my imagination. I found myself purchasing a set from the Ipswich Hobby Shop and then embarking on a journey to master this intricate illusion. Stage one is understanding the secret of how the magic works; stage two is internalising that principle so you can actually present the impossible. Perhaps it’s similar to a comic who no longer finds their own jokes funny, but must still deliver them as though hearing them for the first time, because they’re still going to be hilarious for the audience.
The linking rings is such a captivating and simple plot of intertwining circles that one moment appear separate and, in the blink of an eye, become suddenly and quite impossibly joined together in a chain sequence. I think this mystery is similar to the mystery of an engaging conversation. Do you remember being told as a child not to talk to strangers? I was never any good at that idea and have always tried to talk with as many strangers as possible. After all, as W.B. Yeats once said, “a stranger is a friend you haven’t met yet”. Just like Paul Daniels’ ability to captivate the passengers and flight crew on the plane, I think magic is universally recognised to arouse intrigue and wonder, and mysteriously link people together, just like those magical linking rings.
At events where I perform, I am often astonished by the number of conversations struck up between strangers after my magic has created impossible moments of wonder.