AWARD-WINNING magician Ali Cook will perform in Borehamwood next week and has promised to levitate a member of the audience.

The 29-year-old star of Channel 4's Dirty Tricks is gearing up for a 26-night stint at the Edinburgh Festival in August, called Principles And Deceptions.

His preview show at The Ark Theatre, in Thrift Farm Lane, will include new tricks never performed in the UK before.

Among an evening of surreal illusion, slight of hand and mind-reading, the Yorkshire-born magician warned he will also make an audience member's shoe vanish.

Ali, who was seen swapping the head of a duck and chicken on ITV's Penn and Teller: Fool Us earlier this year, explained where some of his inspiration comes from.

On the chicken and duck routine, he said: “It's the oldest trick in magic, it goes back to ancient Egyptian times. In the original version Dedi, who performed that trick, swapped the heads of various animals and the Pharaoh said that's impressive, but can you do it with the prisoners.

“I try to start with my own idea in every trick, but that is the slowest process. To give you an idea, the disappearing shoe trick took me six months just to get it to work and it lasts three minutes.

“There's no way you can come up with an hours show in a year. My next step is to look to really old tricks that people haven't seen for years and try to update them.

“I quite like what you might call the stage magic from the Victorian era. They were the people who would do things like vanish your shoe or make a bowling ball appear from a hat. They used surreal effects, which I find appealing.”

Ali, whose trademark trick is to swallow razorblades with a grisly twist, became interested in magic after reading books in his mother's new-age book shop.

In his teenage years he began with a Paul Daniels' magic set and was inspired by performers such as Jerry Sadowitz, Penn and Teller, and Steve Martin.

Asked why people find magic so appealing, Ali said: “Magic at its best is a sense of wonder, but in most shows its the shock and surprise that we feel.”

Ali Cook - Pieces of Strange takes place on Thursday, July 21, at The Ark Theatre Borehamwood, in Thrift Farm Lane, at 7.30pm.

Tickets cost £10, concessions are £8, and are available through the box office on 0208 238 7288 or via the website www.thearktheatre.co.uk.