AN ANGRY magician has accused The Swan Theatre of being prejudiced towards magic acts.

Alex Crawford, originally of Bromsgrove but now based in Worcester, is a magician and children's entertainer performing at holiday parks, pubs and other venues across the UK.

But he claims he was told the Swan Theatre would not book his show due 'to a lack of interest and profits'.

A spokesperson for Worcester Theatres, which runs Swan Theatre, said it was not prejudiced against magic acts but poor sales have forced other magic shows to be cancelled.

Mr Crawford said: "It feels as if the theatre has a prejudice against magicians and magic acts. In the last three years I have been in Worcester, I have never seen magic acts at the theatre.

"I have been trying to book a slot to perform at The Swan Theatre and was told that magic acts are not profitable enough and there is no free time until May 2023.

"The Swan is not exactly the Royal Albert Hall. I have worked all over the country and know how much magic can draw a crowd, we see magicians all the time performing on shows like Britain's Got Talent.

"The situation has just made me so angry."

Worcester News: Alex Crawford.Alex Crawford.

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A spokesperson for Worcester Theatres said: "Worcester Theatres is in no way prejudiced against magicians or magic acts, as an organisation we have programmed professional performers in the past including Geoffrey Durham and very recently productions such as Brace of Spades in May 2020, but sadly due to very poor sales the production did not go ahead.

"Therefore, when Mr Crawford contacted the theatre regarding us programming his show, we declined.

"We regularly decline many professional performance tours due to the genre not being popular with our audiences, it does not mean we are prejudiced against that genre.

"We get offered hundreds of shows per month, lots of wonderful productions from circus shows to orchestral concerts and everything in between, but it does not mean there is an audience for them all at our venues.

"Mr Crawford was offered the opportunity to hire the Swan Theatre and it was explained that should he wish to proceed with a booking the date would be post May 2023 due to the venue being heavily programmed.

"We are always incredibly polite and professional in all our dealings with both professional and amateur artists and it is regretful that he has chosen to respond in this way."