Science and Magic - Journey to the land of the Pharaohs

After the success of 'Physics and Magic - A Journey Beyond E=mc2', the Jewish Museum in London asked magician Tony Drewitt and I to create a new show based on the science and magic of Ancient Egypt. This was to coincide with their exhibition on Passover, an important Jewish festival that commemorates the biblical story of Moses.                              

As you will see from the pictures, we both decided to dress up.
Tony's costume was a tribute to one of his favourite performers Tommy Cooper, who wore an Egyptian fez as part of his act, while I tried to give an idea of how the Egyptian princess, who according to Exodus found baby Moses in a basket, might have looked.             

   
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    Copyright: Tracey de Whalley

Both Tony and I have been interested in Egyptology for years, and
at the bottom of this page I've listed some of the books and websites that we found most interesting during the course of our research for the show. These references include information on a wide range of topics from Ancient Egyptian costume and make-up, through building and technology, to magic, rituals and mummification.  

The pictures on this page are from the two shows that Tony and I performed at the Jewish Museum in May 2006, which were both sold out.
   
Please click on pics to enlarge
Above far left, Copyright: Lucy Haynes, and above left, right and far right Copyright: Tracey de Whalley.

We had originally decided to combine our respective professions in 2005 because it was not only the centenary of the Magic Circle, but was also Einstein Year. This was the UK's contribution to the International Year of Physics marking the centenary of Einstein's groundbreaking papers on special relativity, Brownian motion and the photoelectric effect. The result was 'Physics and Magic - A Journey Beyond E=mc2', which we originally performed at the Jewish Museum in London in October 2005.

Tony and I would be delighted to perform further Physics and Magic shows, and contact details for enquiries can be found by returning to the Talks main page. My CV can be viewed on the CV page of this website, while Tony's CV is available by clicking here.

          


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Copyright: Tracey de Whalley

Suggested Reading on Ancient Egypt

Books:

'The Little Book of Egyptian Hieroglyphs' by Lesley and Roy Adkins, Hodder & Stoughton, 2001. ISBN 0340794852

'The British Museum Concise Introduction: Ancient Egypt' by T.G.H James, The British Museum Press, 2005. ISBN 0714119660

'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Ancient Egypt' by Donald P.Ryan, Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 0028642775

'Egyptian Mummies' by Carol Andrews, British Museum Press, 1998. ISBN 0714121398

Websites:

·         For games and other activities based on Ancient Egypt visit this portal.

·         The British Museum has a whole website on Ancient Egypt that contains loads of interesting facts as well as interactive activities for children. The section on writing at the time of the Pharaohs looks particularly good.

·         Explore the Tomb of Perneb with your very own Ancient Egyptian tour guide, courtesy of the    Metropolitan Museum of Art.

  


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Copyright: Lucy Haynes 

·         There are also several pages on Ancient Egypt in the History section of the BBC website. Here are my favourites:

Ancient Egyptian Magic by Dr Geraldine Pinch.

The Private Lives of the Pyramid-builders by Dr Joyce Tyldesley.

Parental Guidance: I'm afraid I have not had time to read the entire contents of these websites and books, so would suggest you checked for suitability prior to allowing lone minors access to them. I can certainly see that some of the material on mummies may upset very young children.

Text copyright: Sharon Ann Holgate, 2006

 
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