Phillip Northfield - Paradox - Overview

Paradox Stage Show - Edinburgh Fringe 2011

PN enters and introduces himself and the show, as well as the sorts of things that will be happening. He chooses someone at random and tries to send a 2 digit number to them mentally. The number is off by 3. PN then reveals that the reason was not to guess the number but to get someone up on stage to look after a calculator for the duration of the show and to make sure it is a real, regular calculator and not some sort of trick one. Before they are sent backto their seat, PN shows on the back are printed the words 'Off by Three' showing the thought of number was indeed predicted.

PN Introduces a game in which there are 5 sealed and numbered envelopes, one of which contains a £5 note. The others contain blank paper, 4 people are offered the chance of choosing whichever envelope they want, with the intention that if they win the money they can genuinely have it . 3 people open their envelopes and are shown to be empty, the final person is given the choice to switch. They refuse, and are told to keep hold of their envelope, PN opens his envelope and shows that the £5 was inside it all along. The spectator with the unopened envelope opens theirs and inside is a piece of paper , written on which is a prediction saying that they won't switch, as well as an apology asking them to take part in the next routine.

A spectator is invited upon stage and a jumbo sized pack of cards is taken out and shuffled. The spectator takes a clump and stands on the other side of the stage. They look over them and PN correctly identifies which cards they are thinking of.

PN asks for any spectators who have analouge watches on, and one is chosen to assist in an experiment in time. They are asked to think of a time in their mind, which PN tries to pick up on, and writes down a prediction on a blackboard. The spectators watch is given to another spectator who turns back and forth to a random time without knowing what it is. PN feigns a mistake and asks what time the person thought of. The time was predicted on the blackboard earlier. To finish the other spectator who turned to a random time has landed perfectly on the first thought of time.

PN asks for 3 wedding rings, and borrows them from random audience members around the room. He takes them and slides each down onto a pencil, which he then grips tightly. The first ring is slid off the pencil and it is shown the rings have linked together. Each audience member is asked to come up in turn and verify that their ring is linked, to finish all 3 rings are unlinked one by one and returned to their original owners.

A spectator is asked to come up front and choose a random word from any page from a book. They remember it and close the book. The then examine a steel blindfold and verify that it is impossible to see . They then mix up a Rubik's Cube whilst PN explains the mechanics and mathematics of the cube. He is then blindfolded and solves the Rubik's Cube via seeing through the spectators eyes. Once the cube is solved the person is sent back to their seat, PN remembers that they chose a word and reads the spectators mind across the room, writing down the correct chosen word on a blackboard.

Members of the audience that were handed slips whilst coming into the show are asked to fill them in, the slips ask for a quesstion which they would like answered, as well as to remember the number that corresponds to their slip. The questions are folded up tightly and collected inside a bag, which is placed onto a table. One at a time PN takes out a folded question and answers it for the person, revealing impossible information that there is no possible way of knowing

The envelope handed to the spectator is brought back ot the front, along with teh spectator and the calculator. The whole audience is asked to think of a 2 digit number each. The spectator from the beginning who was handed a calculator is asked to return to the stage ths spectator chooses 3 random spectators, and the thought of numbers are multiplied together in the fairest way possible.. The answer is predicted inside the sealed envelope. When the spectator is back in their seat, it is shown that the number corresponds to the date of the show.