For today's Magic Video Spotlight, we're looking back at Canadian illusionists Murray Hatfield and Teresa and their appearance on Penn & Teller: Fool Us.
The duo appeared during Season 4 of the hit magic series in an episode titled “Teller Flips a Bird,” originally broadcast on July 27, 2017. It was a particularly magic-packed episode that also featured Misty Lee, Shin Lim and Andi Gladwin.
For their attempt to fool Penn & Teller, Murray and Teresa brought something quite different from the card and close-up magic frequently seen on the program: large-scale stage illusion.
Before their performance, Murray explained that their specialty was working with people rather than cards and coins—making people appear, vanish, float and seemingly get cut into pieces. Teresa also discussed one of the realities audiences rarely think about: performing inside illusion apparatus can be physically demanding and potentially dangerous, requiring considerable work to make everything appear effortless.
Taking Metamorphosis to the Fool Us Stage
Their performance centered around their presentation of Metamorphosis, the famous illusion concept in which two performers impossibly exchange places.
Murray introduced the routine with a simple question based on the idea that two bodies cannot occupy the same space at the same time—and then he and Teresa proceeded to challenge that idea through illusion.
Although the performance did not fool Penn & Teller, that hardly meant the veteran magicians weren't impressed. Contemporary coverage of their appearance records Penn praising their presentation as an exceptional version of Metamorphosis.
And that's an important distinction that sometimes gets lost when discussing Fool Us.
Not receiving a Fool Us trophy doesn't mean an act failed. Penn & Teller may understand the underlying method while still having enormous respect for the construction, originality and performance of the routine.
Decades of Performing Together
Murray and Teresa's partnership goes back much further than their television appearance.
According to their official biography, the two began working together in 1992 and went on to perform internationally across four continents. Their career has included corporate events, casinos, festivals, fairs, cruise ships and appearances at Hollywood's Magic Castle. They have also received numerous honors from within the magic community, including being named Canada's Magicians of the Year by the Canadian Association of Magicians.
Their experience with large-scale illusion was certainly evident during their Fool Us appearance.
In an era when television magic frequently focuses on close-up effects that can be framed tightly for the camera, it's always interesting to see performers bring a traditional stage illusion onto the Fool Us set.
Murray and Teresa demonstrated that a classic principle doesn't have to feel old. Presentation, choreography, timing and the relationship between the performers can make familiar magic feel fresh again.
And sometimes fooling the audience is every bit as important as fooling Penn & Teller.
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