Following their historic victory as the first African duo to win on the hit reality show, Penn & Teller: Fool Us, Gqeberha-born magicians, Brendon Peel and Li Lau, return to the South African stage.
The dynamic duo has been dazzling audiences at the National Arts Festival, which started on June 20 and is set to end on June 30 in Makhanda.
Born and raised in Gqeberha, Peel started his career by performing at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival, where he recently became the top-selling producer at the entire festival, not just from a magic show perspective but across the entire festival.
Since then, he has toured shows across South Africa and the world, including Dubai, Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, and the USA. He was also featured in a starring role in a new TV series that aired worldwide on the Travel Channel called Magic Caught on Camera, where only the best magicians from around the world feature.
In 2021, he also received a Master’s Degree in Business from Rhodes University. Currently, he headlines on some of the biggest and most prestigious cruise ships in the world, putting him in the upper echelon of the best magicians in the world.
He is also currently writing a book about his experiences, and how one can use one’s mind to improve one’s life. Currently, he has been highlighted by Forbes magazine as one of the top entertainers on the continent.
Lau was raised in Gqeberha and eventually moved to the UK, where he started becoming prominent in the world of escapology.
He eventually came back to South Africa where he started touring unique escape and sideshow acts that quickly allowed him to make a name for himself.
Lau is now one of the world’s few record-holding escape artists in the world. He has also performed in shows around the world and was even a featured guest on Big Brother Titans.
“I still consider Gqeberha my home base, as I do spend much of my time here when not travelling to perform around the country or internationally. I’m really looking forward to being a part of the big 50th milestone celebration for the National Arts Festival in Makhanda.
“Taking part in the festival is one of my annual highlights, and this will be my seventh consecutive year returning, which is awesome,” he said.
“I will be showcasing my third new solo show that will focus on the more bizarre side of magic, for which I am known, and hope to wow audiences with some new unseen effects.”
To aspiring magicians, Lau encouraged that if there is an interest and a love of magic, it should be embraced.
“Believe in yourself to master what you love, as you never know where that passion will one day take you,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Peel said audiences should expect to see magic taken to the extreme in ways unimaginable.
“I wish to promote the art of magic on a global scale, and to show the younger magicians of South Africa that anything is possible. Don’t ever stop dreaming. Magic has taken me to over 50 countries and has allowed me to live an incredible life and I owe it all to continuously believing in myself,” Peel concluded.
