THE NEAT REVIEW ISSUE ONE takes us to London in the Spring of 2019.
Derren Brown
Stephen Long
Andrew Frost
Kez Dearmer
Paavan Buddhdev
Alexander Hansford
Rory Adams
Justin Higham
There is a fascinating dialogue that exists between the creative worlds, and magicians seem privy to the most unlikely interminglings of those worlds. Our contributors have magic as a hobby, but work professionally as photographers, visual artists, writers, graphic designers, teachers. In this issue we capture conversations between magic and photography, painting, philosophy, writing and acting. Each world grows from that dialogue. There are five essays, three tricks, two card sleights, and a 26-page interview with quite possibly the best mind reader in the history of magic, Derren Brown.
There is a fascinating dialogue that exists between the creative worlds, and magicians seem privy to the most unlikely interminglings of those worlds.
Our contributors have magic as a hobby, but work professionally as photographers, visual artists, writers, graphic designers, teachers. In this issue we capture conversations between magic and photography, painting, philosophy, writing and acting. Each world grows from that dialogue.
There are five essays, three tricks, two card sleights, and a 26-page interview with quite possibly the best mind reader in the history of magic, Derren Brown.
Derren Brown
Derren Brown is perhaps the best mind reader in the history of mentalism. He calls himself a 'psychological illusionist,' gaining international acclaim through a 20-year television career in the UK, 11 sell-out theatre shows, garnering two Olivier awards and a broadway run in New York City. He has gained a reputation as a performer consistently prepared to break down boundaries. Amid a varied and notorious TV career, Brown has played Russian Roulette live, convinced middle managers to commit armed robbery, led the nation in a séance, stuck viewers at home to their sofas, motivated a shy man to land a packed passenger plane at 30,000 feet, hypnotized another to assassinate Stephen Fry, persuaded a racist to change his ways and lay down his life for an illegal immigrant, and created a zombie apocalypse for an unwitting participant after dramatically ending the world.
Stephen Long
Stephen Long is a narrative designer and video game writer, who happens also to be a co-writer of the Derren Brown shows: Apocalypse, The Great Art Robbery, Svengali, The Push, Sacrifice. He describes himself as the Long half of the 'Longshark' writing duo, with Iain Sharkey. Olivier award-winning writer, puzzle box-lover, all round good chap.
Andrew Frost
Andrew Frost has spent two decades studying, practising, performing and creating his own original card magic, designed specifically for close-up environments. Andrew is renowned as one of the best card magicians in the world, celebrated for his seamless sleight of hand and sharp sense of humour. His contemporary approach to card magic captivates audiences worldwide. He has performed his card magic stage show “Cards on the Table” globally from cosy New York venues to grand London theatres. Andrew's book DOUBLE LIFT was an immediate success and he has contributed immeasurably to many of the publications available through THE NEAT REVIEW. He is formidable.
Kez Dearmer
Kez Dearmer is a painter, illustrator and 3D visualisation artist living and working in London. His writing, photography and illustrations feature heavily throughout the REVIEW and our books, and he co-created the DEARMERS playing cards with Alexander Hansford. Kez has been chief illustrator at THE NEAT REVIEW since its inception, and he is to thank for why any of the publications even exist.
Alexander Hansford
Alexander Hansford founded THE NEAT REVIEW in 2019, after printing a string of limited-run artist books to accompany talks he was giving to magicians worldwide. Across a 14-country lecture tour, from Vienna & Sydney to Beirut & Los Angeles, his books were met with a unique reverence by the magic community. Alexander's long-running collaboration with Derren Brown spans Derren's live theatre shows, including Olivier Award-winning “Underground,” “Secret” and “Showman,” to consulting on the card magic pieces for Derren's “Only Human,” which comes to London’s West-End in late-2026.
Paavan Buddhdev
Paavan Buddhdev is a graduate of the University of Oxford, having completed his Masters in Philosophy. Having worked for a number of startups in central London, he is now a senior product designer at Skin + Me.
Rory Adams
Rory Adams is creative consultant and writer for magicians Justin Willman, Dynamo and Neil Patrick Harris. He runs the incredible "One Ahead Club" a newsletter and online database for magic news and industry insights.
Justin Higham
A student of famed New York card magician Edward Marlo, Justin Higham has published over 40 books and is a font of card knowledge. He contributed a number of unpublished multiple card controls to our inaugural issue and taught a series of workshops at NEATCON 2023.