Trick Review: Holey Shirt by Joe Russell

“Holey Shirt” is a burnt and restored effect that’s performed on a spectator’s shirt. You wander over to a spectator and grab a bit of his or her shirt. You then take out a lighter to demonstrate an "interesting optical illusion" and visibly burn a smoldering ragged hole into the cloth.

After the spectators see you burn the fabric, you rub the burnt hole with your fingers to transform the shirt back to its original unburnt condition.

Your hands appear to be empty afterwards. Unless spectators know what to look for, you’re mostly clean.. There is some prep work and you’ll also need a low-cost prop that you may already own. This one is easy to learn and perform and there are almost no angle problems. Also, this one resets quickly so it may be performed again

You can’t perform this one on any spectator that you meet. They’ll have to meet certain requirements that should be fairly common and easy to find. Another consideration, this is a gutsy trick to pull on a stranger. It’s akin to that old trick where a magician puts out a lit cigarette in a spectator’s tie or leather jacket. Perhaps best for performing on a stooge in front of an audience.

If you like, you can also cut the fabric of the shirt so you don’t have to mess with fire. But I agree that fire is far more captivating.

If “Holey Shirt” sounds like an effect that you would like to perform, you can’t go wrong for the $15 that is the price of this DVD.

-Wayne N. Kawamoto

MSRP: (US) $15

Dealers can purchase from Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc.