Many of you may already be familiar with the works of this famous professional from his numerous appearances on primetime television. You may already know Peter McCahon as "Papa" from "Monkey Magic" or you may have seen his astonishing works more recently on Channel Five (earlier this week.)

There is no doubt that Peter is a master of his profession and he has managed to create a new and inspiring image for himself - one that has become instantly recognisable to audiences from all walks of life. However, you may not know that Peter is also a long-term member of the prestigious Magic Circle and the Fellowship of Christian Magicians. It will be interesting to hear how his faith has dovetailed with his work as a magician.

To find out more about the style of this amazing performer you may like to read up the interview at the following link;

http://www.monkeymagic.tv/mm_pete_mccahon.htm

We all wish Peter a very warm welcome to these forums and I know that we shall all learn a great deal by reading his words over the next few days.

Nigel Shelton.

Sean: Welcome Peter and thanks for taking the time out to answer our questions

Peter: Can I just say that I am very pleased to be a guest here and am looking forward to some interesting questions!

All the best

Peter Mc

Michael Jay: It is always greatly appreciated when quality professionals, such as yourself, take the time to talk with us on these forums. Thank you kindly, sir!

Mike.

MagicSamX: Hello Pete.

You have many notable attributes to your name, including Monkey Magic, Greatest Magic In The Universe Ever, President of FCME, The List goes on!

If you had to pick a single moment you are most proud of in your career as a magician, what would it be?

Peter: Magic Sam,

Thanks for your kind list of 'achievements', as you say they are all things of which I am justly proud and probably each for a different reason. Some are to do with attaining a professional status or presenting a 'quality' act others are more personal and to do with dreams etc.

If I had to pick one moment though I guess I would choose shortly after we finished the first series of Monkey Magic. Channel five decided to advertise it using huge posters all over the underground in London. I remember getting a call from my mum saying "I'm standing in Waterloo Station under a twenty foot poster of you.." now I was proud of that!!

Peter Mc

MagicSamX: Hello Pete.

Thank you for taking time to come and talk to us on Magic Bunny.

As a Christian myself and member of FCME I have performed in churches and church events and found myself come under fire by the older generation of church goers.

Has this happened to you? How do you/would you combat it?

God Bless

Peter: Magic Sam,

I'm sorry to hear that you have 'come under fire' from anyone, but especially church goers. Certainly there are always going to be those in churches who disagree with using magic as a method of communicating christian beliefs, howeverr I have to say that personally I find that less and less.

I guess on one practical level the people who book me for an event are unlikely to turn round and object to what I'm doing so I am less likely to encounter folk who object. However in my role as President of the FCME I do ocassionally get letters from folk who are unhappy. Mostly however they are confused or unsure how we might use magic in a church context and therefore just need it explained to make them happy.

I think my best advice is to avoid 'combative' situtions and allow folk to be unhappy if they wish. Your job is to be a magician for those that want to be amazed not to persuade those that don't that magic is their favourite entertainment medium.

All the best

Peter Mc

Andy D: Hi Peter Many thanks for giving up some of your precious, to come and give some insight to the Bunny brigade.

One of the things that struck me about your 'stage' acts on Monkey Magic were the venues! Specifically the one you did in the mens toilets. Were members of the public REALLY that "Not Bothered" or did you have to do more than one 'Take'?

Peter: Andy,

I'm glad you like the 'stage act' pieces in Monkey Magic. I certainly enjoyed doing them and it was a real eye opener to be able to get down and fiddle with the illusions close up. Like most magicians who have been around the block I was aware of how most worked in principle but the nitty gritty is something else. When you are actually sticking the blades in the box and thinking "where is she, how does she fit in that situation?" it's a blast.

As for the audiences generally yes they were genuinely 'not bothered'. Of course whether that was a genuine reaction or the fact they were British and on TV is another matter. Obviously we had to do more than one take (what wouldn't I have given on occasion for a one take wonder!) because that's what making a TV show demands. Sometimes it's camera angles sometimes it was me tripping over myself or occasionally the members of the public refused to sign consent forms. We did the whole twister thing in the lift for one guy who blanked us (at two feet!!) and refused to sign so we had to do it again.

Peter Mc

Mouser: Hello Peter. First of all, thank you for your time in visiting these boards.

With your faith as a Christian, there must have been times when there have been conflicts with what you (as a magician) have been expected to do and with what you (as a Christian) wanted. Have these occasions happened to you? If so, may I ask how you resolved these issues?

Peter: Mouser,

You make an interesting point but I'm not quite sure what you are getting at? There are always moments in life when you have to make choices depending on your personal beliefs, when what you believe as a christian affects the way in which you respond to a scenario. I would even go as far as to say that sometimes those responses are hard to make because it would be easy to let an issue slide ot just walkaway.

However I'm not aware of any particular conflict between being a christian and a magician. I guess there are some effects that I would choose not to do but I don't think anyone 'expects' me to do them and is dissapointed as a result.

I hope that makes sense

Peter Mc