Magician who pretended to be a man given Magic Circle membership

A magician who made his way in the magical circle finally granted membership, 34 years after he was expelled.

Sophie Lloyd says she disguised himself as a man to deceive examinators to let her join the elite society in 1991, at the time the magic did not allow them to be members.

When the circle announced that it allowed women to join later that year, Lloyd revealed their deception, which led society to expel it at the same meeting that admitted to their first feminine magic.

After a public search to find it, the circle now apologized to Mrs. Lloyd and presents a membership certificate on Thursday night.

At the end of the 1980s, Lloyd was studying at a Mime school in London, where he became a friend of the Magician Jenny Winstanley.

“Jenny was increasingly frustrated than women, including herself, could not join the magical circle,” says Lloyd. “So he came up with an idea to infiltrate society making me dress as a man.

It was a colossal company. Mrs. Lloyd had worked as Miss Winstanley’s assistant in Gigs, but she had a magic performed on her own, so she had to learn.

She invented a new identity, Raymond Lloyd, and disguised himself with a wig, body suit and voice “croaky.” He wore gloves to hide his female hands.

“I had to study the character for two years,” Lloyd told the Canadian station CBC in 1991.

There was nothing to do with Heright-5ft 2in (1.57m), in itself, he designed Raymond as a “18-year-old girl, 18,” with a little facial “fluff”, he told CBC.

By March 1991, Mrs. Lloyd was ready to test her skills. Instead of being examined at the headquarters of the Magic Circle, that Mrs. Lloyd and Miss Winstanley considered too risky, Mrs. Lloyd chose to invite the examiners of society to a performance in a club of working men. She stayed to have a drink with one of the examiners later.

“Hey, she didn’t suspect anything,” she says.

A week later, they told Mrs. Lloyd that she had granted membership to the circle.

For months, Raymond Lloyd performed magic and even socialized with other members of the magical circle.

When Mrs. Lloyd and Miss Winstanley later listened to that society was going to begin accepting magic as members, they decided to clarify about their deception and approached the press.

But the magical circle did not take children to the news. In October 1991, at its first meeting of women of acceptance in society, Mrs. Lloyd was expelled.

“The magical circle was furious,” said Miss Winstanley to CBC at that time. “They say it’s because she cheated them. But that is exactly what the magicians do, isn’t it?”

“It was very sad,” adds Mrs. Lloyd. “We had shown that women were equal to men in magic. It seemed ridiculous that they were offended by what we did and that we were expelled from a magical club for deception.”

Mrs. Lloyd spent about 10 years acting throughout the country as a magician before moving to Spain, where she touched early retirement and has been involved in animal rescue work. Miss Winstanley directed a ceramic company in Norfolk, before she died in a car accident in 2004.

The magic circle began a search for Mrs. Lloyd last year.

“I felt that it was important that the magical circle could raise Sophie as the model to follow for women’s magicians, and demonstrate that we are now a complete open society,” says Laura London, the first female chair of society.

Mrs. Lloyd only learned about the search when her sister sent a link to an interview. Initially I reluctant to join society due to the amount of time that had passed, it could be decided to do so to honor Miss Winstanley’s legacy.

Today, the magical circle is still very dominated by men. The company has around 1,700 members, or that 5% are women.

Mrs. Lloyd will receive her new certificate of membership at an event at the Circle headquarters in London on Thursday night, which will feature performances of five magicians and will be assisted by members of society and the general public. The company says that Miss Winstanley will also be recognized in the event.

“Jenny was a wonderful and passionate person,” says Lloyd. “She would have loved to be here. It’s for Heralyl.”