CHRIS COX
Quotes.
What other people say about Chris Cox.
Chris has has performed for and at:
The Comedy Store, BBC Radio One, BBC Three, BBC 7, The Arts Theatre, Nuts TV, The Guilded Balloon, The Bristol Hippodrome, BBC Switch, BBC Asian Network, Edinburgh Castle, Ricky Gervais, Eddie Izzard, Dannii Minogue, The Bloomsbury Ballroom, Colin Murray, Annie Mac, Chris Moyles and the at Edinburgh Fringe festival for 2 years of sold out shows... just to name a few?!
If you want to read short snappy quotes about Chris you can by clicking here.
To read a selection of reviews for Chris' 2007 Sell Out Award Winning Show, 'Everything Happens For A Reason' click here.
To read a selection of reviews for Chris' 2006 Fringe show 'He Can't Read Minds?' click here
The Guardian.
1st December 2007
Will Cook
"I'm a mind reader who can't read minds", says Chris Cox. "I use a mixture of magic, psychology, neurolinguistic programming, body language, subliminal messaging, influencing and devilish god looks - and lying." He's one of the most exciting entertainers in Britain, and he's still only 23. Perhaps you've heard him on Radio One, astounding Chris Moyles and Jo Whiley. Maybe you saw his one man show, Everything Happens Fro A Reason at the Edinburgh Fringe. Ricky Gervais reckons he's brilliant, and this wee he's paying one night only at London's Arts Theatre. But you'd better make the most of it. He's sure to be playing far bigger stages here and abroad soon. "I"m interested in those 'what if?' moments in life," he says. "Are fate and chance mysteries of the universe, or can we control them?"
The Times
1st December 2007
Dominic Maxwell
Top 5 Comedy - CHRIS COX: EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON
A reminder that Derren Brown isn't the only mentalist on the block as Radio 1's in-house illusionist brings his very promising Edinburgh show into the West End. Arts Theatre, Great Newport Street, WC2
Time Out
Tim Arthur
Recommended
BBC Radio 1's in-house magician with his mix of magic, psychology and mind-reading. He does tricks that Jesus would have been proud of. Very funny young man and part of the new generation of magicians
There's nothing I like more than a young man in a 'He-Man' T-shirt doing tricks in a Starbucks. So I was in luck when I went to interview mentalist Chris Cox in one of those fine corporate coffee emporiums. By mentalist I don't mean one of those nutters who shouts 'Go on, fuck of!" at your randomly on the tube, I mean someone who reads minds.
In this intimate setting it's fun to watch him perform a couple of impressive card routines but it's his more cerebral work that I'm here to see.
'I always tell my audience how I'm going to do things. It'll be a mixture of magic, psychology, neuro-linguistic programming, subliminal messaging, influencing, devilish good looks and lying.' He casually makes a coin disappear and re-appear out of thing air.
'Have you got a book in your bag?'
I take out a novel and show it to him
'Okay, turn to any page. Look at the top three words on the left hand page. Okay I want you to picture them in your mind. Think about the first word. Is it a long or short word? Don't tell me. It's short. The next word, can you picture the word in some way? I'm seeing a hand or something, interesting. For the last word recite the alphabet for me.'
I go through all the letters with him scrutinising my face.
'No , I missed it.' He's looking worried. "'Think of it again. Lift your chin up a bit and spell it over in your head. It's an "ood" sounding word. "Would?" No. "Could". So the first word is a short one like "be" or "but". The second words looks like an American Indian holding up his hand. Is it "How"? Okay, I think the three words are "but how could". He's bang on and that's very creepy.
Given that inevitable comparisons have been drawn between Cox and Derren Brown, how difficult is it not to imitate his persona? "Derren is so good and powerful but people aren't going to buy that from me. I'm just a geeky, slightly nervous, not really particularly confident young kid who is surprised when stuff actually works. So I just have to be myself."
Before I leave he informs me he's been loading my mind with a subliminal message to add to the article. Ha! I'm afraid you got that one wrong, Chris.
Metro Newspaper
Another young joker in the pack is Chris Cox, Radio 1's resident
magician owes more to Derren Brown than Blaine and has taken his
mind magic to new levels.
"I use psychology, NLP, prediction and performance. I call it
contemporary mind-reading but to keep it fresh, I incorporate a
mixture of comic techniques and multimedia resources." Also 22,
he's been a regular fixture on Radio 1's Colin & Edith show and
makes his Edinburgh Fringe debut this summer.
"I'm a quirky, slightly awkward, geeky guy who takes the piss
out of what 'magicians' are meant to be. You'll laugh your head off
while still being blown away," he explains of his growing
appeal.
"I tend to look to popular culture, movies, songs, theatre and
TV to give me inspiration rather than any magic book, I don't want
to recycle old ideas." Whatever tricks are up Chris Cox's
sleeve next, one thing's for sure: you won't find him depressed in a
box for 44 days
Venue Magazine
Featured a massive article on Chris, click here to read the
whole thing as a PDF. They also put his show "He Can't Read
Minds?" as the Essential - Don't Even Think About Missing:
Chris Cox - the non mind reading mind reader." feature.
Click here to see the PDF,
or click here for just the text!
BBC Bristol Online
They say lots of nice things about Chris, they even call him a
mind-bender! Click
Here to read them.
SUCCESS IS ON THE CARDS
FOR ILLUSIONIST CHRIS
The Bristol Evening Post
A Young illusionist will be showing off his
talents in Bristol next month in preparation for his show at the
Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Former Bristol student Chris Cox will be
playing nine dates at the festival in August.
But first he will be giving a preview of his innovative multi- media
show in his hometown of Backwell.
In the act, which he has called You Can't Read Minds?, Chris
performs alongside a 2D version of himself on television.
He said he is looking forward to the Fringe festival but is pleased
to be able to practise in Bristol beforehand.
He said: "The Fringe festival is such a big thing to be
involved in. It's really exciting and quite scary actually.
"I have been going to the festival myself for the past six
years to watch stand-up comedy and have always wanted to perform.
"Hopefully it will lead to more shows.
"Ideally, I'd love to one day take my show on tour."
The 22-year-old is following in the footsteps of another former
Bristol student - psychological illusionist Derren Brown. But he
says he is keen to put his own stamp on the show.
He said: "My shows used to be quite similar to Derren Brown's,
but now there is a much more comedic side to my mind reading.
"I decided to introduce a 'Little Chris' into the show - a 2D,
pre-recorded version of me on a TV screen.
"He interacts with the audience and predicts what they will
say, but it is all pre-recorded so I couldn't have known what the
audience member would say.
"That means I have to influence them using suggestion and mind
control."
Like Derren Brown, Chris combines confidence and intuition to subtly
guide human behaviour. He describes his craft as a mixture of
applied psychology, magic, misdirection and showmanship.
He said: "The unique blend of magic and psychology gives the
impression of mind-reading."
Chris began performing at age six, after receiving a Paul Daniels
magic set as a gift.
He has been featured on television shows such as The Big Breakfast,
Live and Kicking, The Real Holiday Show, Jack Dee's Happy Hour and
The Biz, and also appeared in a series of adverts for Comic Relief.
Chris now lives in London but comes back to Bristol to visit his
mum, who lives in Portishead, and to work at the BBC, in Whiteladies
Road.
Chris will be playing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival from August
20 to 28.
The Fringe festival preview of You Can't Read Minds? will be held at
The Backwell Playhouse, Mariners Drive, on July 30 at 7pm and 9pm.
Tickets are £5 in advance or £7 on the door. Book online at www.chriscox.info or call 07951 797512.
YOUNG MAGICIAN'S TRICKS OF THE TRADE
The Bristol Evening Post
Performers like Derren Brown and David Blaine have revived an
industry previously stereotyped by white rabbits, children's parties
and Paul Daniels. LUCY PARKINSON meets a young Clifton-based
illusionist and learns some mind-boggling tricks.
Interviewing a mind control expert isn't a situation that I find
easy to approach. My initial fear is that this young illusionist
will use his psychological prowess to steer the interview in his
favour and somehow wipe clean my mind at the end of our meeting,
leaving me with nothing more than a few meaningless scribbles from
which to write my feature.
But meeting 20-year-old Chris Cox is like meeting an old friend,
although he did later confess that his friendly nature was partly an
act to win my trust.
"It's really important to get people's trust, they need to like
you. Some magicians can be cocky and I don't think it does them any
favours," Chris explains. "While you have to get the
audience to warm to you, I try to be just the right side of
charming."
Chris doesn't claim to be a mind-reader. Instead he describes his
craft as a mixture of applied psychology, magic, misdirection and
showmanship. Like TV's Derren Brown, Chris combines confidence and
intuition to startling degree, enabling him to subtly guide human
behaviour - usually with astonishing results.
A student at Bristol University, Chris is currently in his second
year of a degree in drama, theatre, film and television. He began
performing magic at the tender age of six after receiving a Paul
Daniels magic set as a gift, which he holds responsible for sparking
his passion for magic, saying: "That man has got a lot to
answer for."
He has been featured on television shows like The Big Breakfast,
Live and Kicking, The Real Holiday Show, Jack Dee's Happy Hour and
The Biz, and he has also appeared in a series of adverts for Comic
Relief. He gave me a demonstration of his skills - beginning with a
few seemingly simple card tricks, such as guessing which card I had
picked from a pack by asking simple questions and monitoring my
reactions.
But I was keen to witness more complex techniques he had told me
about prior to the interview, such as memory recall. Chris asked me
to draw three pictures of something I love, something I loathe and
something I like.
He then claimed to be able to tell which drawing corresponded to
which emotion by the detail in the picture and extremely subtle
changes in my facial expressions. He encouraged me to make the links
between the drawing and the emotion as tenuous as I liked. For
example, for something I love, I drew a very slap-dash sketch of the
ss Great Britain to signify my love for Bristol.
I'll admit to being shocked that he guessed each one correctly. He
said the tiny detail of the ship's flag waving in the wind indicated
that I took slightly more care over this picture, and so was able to
deduce that it was, indeed, something I loved.
While demonstrating his tricks, Chris was happy to explain how he
was apparently able to read my mind. "The unique blend of magic
and psychology gives the impression of mind-reading. In my
performances I attempt mind-reading using various psychological
techniques. "I try to take the theory behind magic, a bit of
showmanship and acting techniques, and the psychological programming
and profiling ideas behind hypnosis in my tricks. "It's a form
of psychological bullying, I suppose."
I asked Chris if he had ever used his skills to attract women or
influence his friends. He said: "I don't try to influence my
friends' thoughts because if I did that they would never get to know
the real me, I suppose if I wanted I could try and influence a girl
and try to make her like me. For example I might get her to talk
about something she likes, and as she was talking I'd make a
particular gesture, like touching my face. Then, later on, I might
ask her out on a date and I'd make the same gesture, which she would
subconsciously pick up on and link to the feeling of happiness she
had experienced previously, and hopefully she would be more likely
to say yes."
In meeting Chris I had gained an intriguing insight into the world
of illusion and mind control. But with my new-found knowledge of
some of Chris' most perplexing tricks, would I be willing to share
the secrets I have learned? Now that would be telling.
YOUNG AND BAFFLING MAN OF
MYSTERY
Review of Chris Cox - Mind Works
Clevedon Mercury
The buzz and chatter in the crowd beforehand could be summed up by
one word - fascination. It was certainly an intriguing prospect, not
knowing what quite to expect from it all. As the lights went down
and the music started pumping, Chris came on in a sharp suit.
If the entrance wasn't quite through the proverbial puff of smoke
with a scantily-clad assistant in tow, that was the point. He wasn't
going to make a rabbit appear out of a top hat, pull a pigeon from
his sleeve or saw a nervous volunteer in half.
This was all about getting into your mind through the powers of
language and suggestion, and it was a point well made from start to
finish. If Chris's suit was sharp then you could cut yourself on the
script. He relaxed the audience, chatted to them and explained
things at a good pace.
The jokes were there as well, but he always had control, never
dwelling on anything for longer than need be, as everything he said
had a meaning on the subconscious level. I've always thought while
in the theatre that a musical production or play can occasionally
compensate for a missed line or a slightly off-cue note.
On the stage alone however, must be daunting. Having to hold the
audience for the duration, not being able to trip up once. Like a
joke that misses the mark, or many jokes if you're unfortunate
enough to be at a show at the end of a summer end-of-the-pier
variety season. But Chris's script was clever and well executed like
a seasoned pro, and hard to believe from someone who's just 20 years
old.
He warned there would be a lot of audience participation, much to
the obvious delight of some and not quite so to others, and he
managed to get the majority up on the stage and involved. The first
half of the show involved the manipulation of numbers, and prompting
the audience, but Chris was quick to point out that there was no
hypnosis involved in the act, just language and psychology.
The second half was a great fusion of thought manipulation,
suggestion and, in particular, one downright dangerous act. An all
together darker affair, said Chris, and as if to prove his point
straight after the break he did a trick with a knife. He asked a
member of the audience to place an upright knife in one of five
black plastic bags and write the number down in an envelope.
He then got someone else to read the number and then count to five
loudly on the stage. Having listened to the numbers he smashed his
hand down on each bag he thought the knife wasn't under.
That got the applause it deserved, but his next trick matched it, as
he got inside the head of one audience member on the stage and knew
exactly what she was thinking, which was very impressive.
Chris got a deserving standing ovation at the end and those who
turned up looking for an intriguing and impressive show were
certainly not disappointed.
