A Wolverhampton entertainer who has received rave reviews at home and abroad for her spectacular stage show has become the first solo female performer to win a coveted award – and it’s pure magic!
Careena Fenton, who is now based in Tettenhall and is well known across Shropshire due to formerly living in Bridgnorth, was presented with the Tony Shelley Cup for Stage Magic by the Wolverhampton Circle of Magicians, a trophy first presented in 1961 and follows successful tours of her highly acclaimed hour-long Phantasmagorical show where she appears as her Victorian alter ego Sylvia Sceptre.
The supernatural spectacle of stories and magic has held audiences spellbound and been hailed as being very different from a typical magic show. Local fans have the chance to see a performance at Newhampton Arts Centre in Wolverhampton on May 17.
“Phantasmagorical has been a massive hit. I have been delighted with the reception it has received wherever it has played and to win this award has topped off quite an incredible year for me,” said Careena.
“I am a member of the Magic Circle and the Wolverhampton Circle of Magicians. The Tony Shelley Cup for Stage Magic has been awarded for more than 55 years and it’s a great honour to be the first solo female performer in all that time to win it.
“It’s wonderful to be recognised in this way, it’s a great achievement and I am absolutely thrilled to win an award which has been won by some excellent magicians over the years.
“Wolverhampton Circle of Magicians is one of the most active and successful magical societies in the country with a number of national and international magician in the group.
“I am also Magician in Residence at the Newhampton Arts Centre and have a rehearsal studio there where I can create and develop my act before going out on the road. The show on May 17 will be a bit like coming home after a very busy spell and I am looking forward to presenting Phantasmagorical to my home-town audience.
“Phantasmagorical has been very well received and I think a big reason for that is that the show is different, very different from the usual kinds of magic show you can go and see anywhere.”
Careena, who is a familiar face across Shropshire and the West Midlands, has travelled across the country for Fringe Festivals and performances at some of the most acclaimed theatres in the country.
“Magic is such a wonderful form of entertainment and I never get tired of seeing the reaction on people’s faces or from the audience when they are genuinely excited by what they have seen – it really is entertainment at its best.
“I think it’s very important to keep things fresh and interesting. I can do the close-up sort of magic you associate with the TV magicians but I don’t think there is anything quite like the full show experience.
“Phantasmagorical lasts for an hour, it took a long time putting it together and then there were extensive rehearsals to make sure everything was spot-on for the performance. But it’s all been worth it and I always aim to make sure each show is as good as it can be,” she added.
The show stars Miss Sylvia Sceptre as a time-travelling magician who takes her audience back to Victorian England, combining magic and mind reading in a macabre and eerie tale inspired by the female spiritualists from that era.
For more about the show at the Newhampton Arts Centre and ticket details, visit http://www.newhamptonarts.co.uk/phantasmagorical/
For more about Sylvia Sceptre, visit https://www.sylviasceptre.com/and for more about the Wolverhampton Circle of Magicians, visit http://www.wcm-magic.co.uk/index.html
