Professor Heard’s
Peerless
Magic Lantern Shows
Mervyn Heard stages magic lantern entertainments which explore the long and often surprising history of the magic lantern show from its mysterious origins in the 17th century, through to the lantern’s Victorian heyday and contunued appeal in the age of Edwardian cinema, using a mixture of vintage stories, sights, frights, moral messages and optical surprises presented on an original biunial magic lantern. To date, he has performed in galleries, theatres, cinema venues and at festivals throughout Europe, in the USA, Canada, Australia and Japan and appeared in various TV programme and even in feature films. Past clients include Tate Britain, the Royal Opera House, the Magic Circle, the Brighton Festival, the Perth International Festival, the Museo Nazionale del Cinema Turin and the Cinemateca Portugese. He is also the author of Phantasmagoria - The Secret Life of the Magic Lantern
“..19th century history has never been so fresh, so entertaining or quite so surprising...”.. The Guardian 
