John Graham and Paul Harris Presents deliver a fantastic torn and restored newspaper effect that is different from many predecessor similar effects. Here, there are no magnets or glue and does not require you to palm or ditch anything into a pocket or case. It uses a very different method from what you may have learned before. This version of this well-known effect is superior to others because you can hand out the newspaper for inspection both before and after the performance. This version may make all other versions obsolete. Set-up is quick and easy, compared to prior version. This is really awesome and creative.

The trick comes in a quality black cardboard box (5 ¾ wide x 7 ¾ tall x 2 inches deep) with silver writing on the outside. Inside the box is the gimmick in a drawstring bag with repair materials and some things you need to do the effect, plus an extra part in case you need it in the future. The trick comes with a marker, which is used during the routine and a top-notch produced DVD. Also in the package is a note indicating that the gimmick was tested and if “for any reason your gimmick is damaged or defective in anyway, please contact us directly…and we will make sure you are 100% taken care of.” That is an indication that PHP is standing behind their products 100%.

The DVD is of the highest quality and is taught by John Graham. It starts with Graham immediately explaining the secret. I appreciate PHP not making me wait. Then a live performance with Graham (although the quality of the video is not very good, he notes that and includes it to show the purchasers what a real performance to a real audience looks like). Graham does a routine where he writes the initials of a randomly chosen spectator on the newspaper, which is torn and shown to be in pieces and then amazingly restored. Graham then does a studio performance in which he writes a number on the newspaper, instead of initials, that are called out by an audience member. This version is not ideal as you can run into trouble with your audience if things don’t go like you think they may. Graham teaches how to set-up the newspaper, which must be only one page of a folded paper, commonly seen in tabloid or supermarket circulars. The set-up is not difficult. The video also shows you how to reconstruct the gimmick if it is damaged.

The performance is not difficult, and can be performed by most anyone, but you will need to practice a few times to get it down and feel comfortable. Also, this is great for a stage performance, it can be done in a close-up situation if you have a place to stand so that all the spectators are in front of you and not behind or surrounding you.

The DVD then contains a live performance of what Graham calls the “wet” version, as opposed to the “dry” version, both of which are taught by Graham. The “wet” version allows you to hand out the newspaper before and after the affect and write the initials of a spectator. The dry version requires a spectator to call out a number between one and ten and it has, in my opinion, some pitfalls, including the fact that you can’t hand out the newspaper before the routine. The wet version is slightly more difficult and has more to think about, but it is the more astonishing of the two methods.

Graham’s step-by-step instruction is very clear and the video is shot from the performer’s point of view, sometimes the spectator’s point of view and also different angles for the different steps. This is immensely helpful in being able to learn the method quickly. In both versions you end almost 1000 percent clean, but not actually 1000 percent. I would say you end 999.9 % clean... close enough to say that you are 100% clean.

This product gets the highest rating.

PROS

Wow! What an awesome effect! The beauty of this, compared to other paper tear routines (and there are literally hundreds, perhaps thousands of variations of the classic effect), is that you can have a participant inspect the newspaper before you perform, and then you hand out the restored paper with their initials written on it to the participant as a souvenir and you are left completely clean.

The method is very clean and the gimmick is very clever and very well made.

The instruction is very good and very thorough. He shows a few different live performances and then goes through a detailed explanation. He also explains how to maintain the gimmick and how to repair it if necessary. The gimmick is very well made and should last a very long time.

The difficulty level is pretty beginner. By following the steps and just a bit of practice, you should be able to do this quite easily.

This effect can be done in close-up, walk-around, parlor, or stage.

The effect looks exactly as it does in the trailer. If you liked the trailer, I think you are going to love the effect in real life.

CONS

The method and props are really good quality. There are just a few things to be aware of:

You will only be able to do this with a single tabloid size sheet of newspaper, not the entire newspaper. This should not be an issue. You will be folding the paper into small sections and tearing it several times. I have found that my local newspapers are all tabloid size. The size of the unfolded newspaper page would be around 22 inches wide and 16 inches tall, give or take a few inches.

You can cleanly show the single paper and nothing else in your hands but the marker used to write their initials on the newspaper. You can wear any clothing, but you will need to use the special marker provided. You can see the actual marker in the trailer.

VERDICT

This is one of the cleanest and most amazing newspaper tear routines of the hundreds or perhaps thousands that have been developed over the many years of this classic effect. The best part is it begins with a clean examination of the sheet of newspaper, and ends completely clean as you hand out the restored paper to a participant to examine.

Suggestions

In one of the live performances, his participant is a woman who is celebrating an anniversary with her husband. In the routine, he wrote her initials on the paper. However, it occurred to me that this could be an even more powerful performance if you were to draw a heart on the paper and write a single initial for each of them in the heart, for example “S+J” for Sue and John. To start the routine, you would need to ask if there is a couple in the audience celebrating a special day or a couple with an anniversary date closest to today’s date. At the conclusion of the routine, you would hand out the newspaper with the heart and their initials and ask one of them to write the date of their anniversary on the restored newspaper as a souvenir.