Mitch Durbank from Beilen has been a professional magician for thirty years. That means he can earn his living with it. According to Durbank, there are not many colleagues who get their income exclusively from magic. “In Drenthe I am one of the few. Perhaps the only one.”
Durbank gives shows at parties and parties, about 160 a year. “I mainly do a lot of company parties and the occasional family party,” he says. “And I also go to schools a lot. Very nice to do.”
As a small child, Durbank was already interested in magic. He always looked at Hans Kazan. And he went to the library with his mother to get magic books. “I did little tricks from that and then I was already in the living room doing it.” From the age of 16, Durbank joined a real magic club: Passe Passe, one of the largest magic clubs in the country. There he learned the further tricks of the trade.
Durbank also still takes many tricks from old magic books. “If you want to do something unique, you have to get it out of there. There are still the gems that other magicians don’t.” Because everything you get from YouTube or TikTok – which many youth are doing these days – can be imitated by anyone.
Speaking of youth: Durbank rarely sees them at magic clubs and the Dutch Magic Union (NMU), the magic association of the Netherlands. “It is really aging with us. The average age at the magic club is 65 years. There are some young people who seem to like to pick it up. But when they find out what they have to do, they are gone very quickly .” Because to learn how to do magic, you have to practice a lot. “And they often don’t feel like it.”
Behind his house, Durbank has a real magic room, where he retreats for a few hours every day. “I store all my stuff in that room. Like light, sound and suits that I wear. A business suit, and a cheerful suit, for children’s performances. I’m quite tall, so I have to come across as a bit friendly,” he says with a grin. “And I practice my tricks there. I can practice a trick a hundred times in a morning.”
Or something goes wrong? “Yes. But I’ve had that so many times that I can put a twist on almost anything.”
Durbank hopes that the magic profession will not die out and that there are still young people who want to start it. “On the internet you see videos of young people doing tricks. But giving shows, that’s really something else. And for that you need physical contact with other magicians. You can’t do that behind a computer screen. My tip would be real to visit other magicians. Then you learn some more secrets that are not on YouTube, and what it is really about.”