Ian Saville

Ian Saville
Ian Saville
	Ian Saville, 8 August 2023
Born	30 April 1953 (age 71)
Nationality	British
Alma mater	University of Exeter; City, University of London
Occupation(s)	Magician, ventriloquist, comedian
Years active	1979–present
Employer	Middlesex University
Political party	Labour
Website	www.redmagic.co.uk

Ian Saville (born 30 April 1953) is a British

socialist propaganda. He says of his act, "whereas David Copperfield is content with little tricks like making the Statue of Liberty disappear, I aim at the much more ambitious goal of making International Capitalism and exploitation disappear".^[1]

Life and career

Saville was born in the

Jewish parents.^[1] He began conjuring at the age of 11. He reached the semi-finals of the Butlins national talent contest. Becoming interested in theatre, he studied drama at the University of Exeter

. He toured with the political theatre group Broadside, as well as working in community theatre.

In 1979, Saville started developing what he calls his "socialist magic" act.[1] He cites Bertolt Brecht as a major influence, and one of his shows features a ventriloquists' dummy of Brecht. He has collaborated with left-wing folk singer Leon Rosselson in two shows. Two of his standard tricks are "The Class Struggle Rope Trick" and "The vanish of the military-industrial complex".^[1]

In 1990, Saville received a PhD from

City University, London, for his thesis on political theatre in Britain in the 1920s and 1930s. He teaches part-time on theatre courses at Middlesex University.^[1] In August 2013, he visited the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with a free show about money: the Free Money Magic Show.^[2]