03/09/2026
🎩 DID YOU KNOW THAT ONE OF BRITAIN’S MOST INFLUENTIAL MAGICIANS BEGAN HIS CAREER ON THE SITE OF THE EVERYMAN THEATRE? 🎩
John Nevil Maskelyne, who is known in magic circles as 'The Chief' was born in Cheltenham in 1839.
Before the Everyman Theatre was built on Regent Street, the site was occupied by a town hall.
Maskelyne watched a performance by two visiting American spiritualists, the Davenport Brothers, who claimed to possess supernatural powers. However, Maskelyne wasn’t convinced.
After studying their act, Maskelyne and his friend George Alfred Cooke, who was a cabinet maker, recreated the Davenports' tricks and exposed their illusions. The performance was so staggering that it helped to launch Maskelyne's own extraordinary career as a professional magician, and his interest in conjuring began.
Maskelyne and Cooke repeated the show several times in Cheltenham, adding in comedy illusions, before taking it on the road to nearby towns, and then cities across the UK.
Maskelyne performed at The Crystal Palace, before undertaking a 31 year residency ayLondon’s famous Egyptian Hall. He still holds the record for the longest continuously running magic show in British history.
Magic wasn’t his only talent.
He was an author and inventor. Most famously Maskelyne created a coin-operated lock for public toilets. The lock charged one penny to enter and is credited with giving rise to the familiar euphemism 'going to spend a penny.'
The Magic Circle still presents an award annually in Maskelyne's name, and here at the Everyman, we have a plaque that commemorates the amazing Cheltenham magician and the very spot where his career began
Next time you visit, see if you can spot it ✨
Have you noticed the plaque before? And what part of the Everyman’s past should we uncover next?
