On Mar 13, 2023, canaday wrote:
Banksy - Casper
$20.00
https://www.murphysmagic.com/product.aspx?id=73950

The Hype:
Banksy is an effect that I have performed over the years.

It allows you to seemingly read their mind or predict a randomly thought of word. It seems totally fair... Or is it?

Thank you for this review. It's nice to see. Also thank you for the honesty with it.

The routine is structured around influence.

This routine works because of the structured linguistics. It allows you to restrict the spectator into a limited amount of words to choose from, without seeming to be restrictive.

Have you ever been asked to perform, but you don't have anything on you? This effect can be performed anywhere at any time.

I have been performing this over Skype, Zoom, FaceTime, close up... even on stage. It really is versatile!

I feel that wherever you are in your journey with mentalism, you will be able to perform this effect!

My Take:
When I first took a look at this effect, I was a little leery. I thought it might only appeal to those in the British Isles (and probably Canada), The opening story has to do with Banksy, a street artist who has become a sensation. His works sell for mega dollars now. However a lot of people in the United States might not be familiar with him. The Queen is also mentioned and, unfortunately, the majority of Americans could not care less about the Royal Family aside from what tabloid headlines they happen to read while in line at the supermarket. And lastly, the HMV logo is discussed. This shows a dog listening to an old gramophone. HMV stands for her Majesty's Voice. American readers should recognize the logo as RCA and the phrase "His Master's Voice". However, with a little thinking everything here can be worked around. A little nip here, a tuck there and you have a nice mentalism piece that will work just fine stateside.

I happen to enjoy mentalism pieces with no props. Banksy can be performed virtually or in person with no loss of impact. So long as your spectator has a phone with an Internet connection (and who doesn't these days?) to look up an image online, you are all set. This effect is easy to do. There is no memorization and no props. You just need to be able to see each other on your respective phones. So simple that in just one watching of the tutorial you should have all the information you need to perform it. Although, as in most mentalism, please rehearse this or it will lessen the impart greatly.

I am not letting the cat out of the bag by saying the word is forced. The description tells you that. The procedure is pretty clever (and did I mention, easy?) However, this also means that it cannot be repeated for the same people again. But it also means that your volunteer will not be able to grab any of your props as they are non-existant.

If you are looking for a strong piece to do if asked to perform when you are out with no props, this could be just what you are looking for.

I would recommend Banksy however with the limitations I have mentioned above.