Fay Presto, Queen of Close-up, Documentary

This is a portrait documentary about the legendary Fay Presto; the UK’s most in-demand close-up and cabaret magician who would rather die on stage than quit performing. Influencing hundreds of magicians and making way for women in the magic world, Fay’s humour and brilliance has led her to perform for the Queen on six separate occasions as well as doing private magic shows in countless of celebrities’ homes.
This short documentary reflects on Fay’s everyday life as a magician and, at age 70, an older woman in a youth obsessed entertainment industry. It touches upon gender roles and ageing, shows the struggle of earning a living as a performer, and, through her memories, gives us a glimpse into the glamorous days of the London 80s.
Directed by Hanna Aqvilin
www.aqvilin.com

[@Spirit-Of-The-Age]

Stewart Lee's recent 'Basic Lee' comedy stand up tour brought me here. During his set, he highlights what an amazing magician and person Fay Presto is. It's on video too filmed at 'The Lowry'

[@RAmusique]

Great memories of being entertained by Fay at Langans. So sad that the era of that restaurant and its unique atmosphere, with Fay in residence for so many years, has now come to an end. Some really wonderful times. Thank you Fay!

[@abcantiques777]

What a classy lady. I met her once at the London Magic club. She was 👏 AWESOME!!!

[@glyndavies]

Fay's bottle through table is one of the greatest pieces of magic ever. A "simple" trick, but a triumph of misdirection and timing. I've seen her do it several times and it never fails to make shivers go up my spine.

[@vivienneandersson6019]

Absolutely !

[@TheRidgeChannel]

I met Fay at a party at the age of 11 in 1986. I watched everything, she used me as an assistant making me the magician.. it was incredible. Since then I have always believed in magic! I’m now nearly 50!

[@MickyMadHatter]

This is a really nice documentary about a fascinating person. Very well done!

[@JulieFromYork]

first saw Fay on telly way back in the 80's (never seen her in person - unfortunately) and have remained impressed ever since Paul Daniels ? The man was a complete dick to Fay, but she rose above it ... can't have been easy The best revenge on the haters is to live your best life ... Think Fay has managed that brilliantly.

[@Sam76889]

Lived in the same village as Fay’s parents. Was lucky enough to watch her a few times at our local pub. She is outstanding.

[@DreamboysCoUk]

Saw this incredible lady at The Ned. Can’t wait for the next time.

[@jedthehumanoid9953]

I love her she's great. A true professional.

[@SpyrosMelaris]

Fay Presto is a great magician, that goes without saying. More importantly, she is a beautiful friend. xxx

[@bravefastrabbit770]

>she Dude this is a sad old man suffering from demonic possession

[@SpyrosMelaris]

@@bravefastrabbit770 Seriously dude, if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.

[@1946Ash]

Met Fay at a company Christmas do in ‘94. Great entertainer and very friendly. I still have a signed playing card.

[@jeremyluck2185]

Finding this 'you tube' reminded me when Fay attended a company do (Texaco Oil) back in 1987/88 (Heathrow Hotel). And one of her birthday bash at Stringfellows (St.Martins Lane). Good Times.

[@forestmoon7979]

I’ve had a giant magic (and otherwise) crush on Fay since I first saw her in ‘86. Such a great magician. Especially her “metamorphosis”.

[@1953PE]

she is my hero

[@doghot77]

Great Professional is Fay Presto loved this 👏

[@magicmagician2510]

The funny thing is that "FAI PRESTO" in Italian letteraly means "BE FAST"

[@garymacsmagic4695]

I’d like to buy your car Faye if you ever want to sell it!Its a bit of rare magic in itself!

[@DerrickJLive]

She is great

[@karlsandham121]

Wonderful

[@TheNewb187]

i dont wanna know where that bottle came from at 3:44

[@marieangelique4934]

❤

[@seanfaherty]

She invented close up magic ? I guess Vernon, Slydini and Miller were just fuck’n around.

[@tapmaan6150]

She invented Close Up magic?

[@VirginiaFreel-w5z]

Hernandez Charles Jones Jason Jones Sarah

[@glamdolly30]

Fay Presto's costume designer called her 'fearless'. Yet in this curious documentary, Fay never once mentioned one of the most notable things about herself - her transgender status. I don't recall her being so coy in the past? I like Fay a lot, I've met her over many years working in television. It's disappointing to find she's now denying her own remarkable story, by talking as though she's a biological woman. She is a trans woman, and should be proud to be one. To be precise, she is Britain's first professional transsexual magician - a pretty impressive distinction. It's an achievement she was never shy of mentioning before! What happened? Fay's journey as a biological male transitioning in the mid 'eighties is a fascinating one. She was a member of the 'Magic Circle' as a male, but was ejected from that notoriously archaic club when she began to transition. Only when the 'Circle' relented after 86 years, abandoned its men-only policy and allowed women to join, was she re-admitted in 1991. Fay used to be justly proud of her status as the UK's first professional trans magician. What's changed? Alas it's only too obvious what's changed - strident, toxic trans activism, is what's changed. How sad Fay is among the misguided trans folk who have fallen in line with the modern trans mantra: 'Trans women are women'. On the contrary, trans women are trans women - and should be proud to be so, not claiming to be the exact same category as biological females, with exactly the same lived experience (and in the case of trans women athletes, the exact same physiology), as females! This radical shift in trans politics is harming women and children - and ultimately will harm the trans community too. Fay showed guts and determination identifying as a trans woman long before it was fashionable, in the glaring spotlight of a high profile showbiz career. That she became such a success, achieved such longevity as a trans performer, and is now firmly established among the UK's top magicians is remarkable. So why in this documentary does she employ so much 'misdirection' about her trans status? Fay should be flying the flag for transsexuals, not hiding her trans status like it's some dirty secret. The tributes to her in voice-over were just as dishonest. It's patronising nonsense for the woke brigade to say Fay 'championed' women. Why would or should she champion women? She never represented women - she was always a trailblazer for trans women! As I mentioned I've had dealings with Fay over many years working as a TV producer. She's delightful, and unmistakably transgender. Alex Jarrett is being deliberately disingenuous about her career history, when he says: "She stuck out more on television, being a woman doing magic". He knows perfectly well she actually stuck out because a/ she was a talented performer and b/ she was transgender, which was both a rarity and a novelty 30-odd years ago. Today so many male-born people (otherwise known as men) are self-identifying as 'transgender' - most of whom are heterosexual with no wish for any surgery or hormones to compromise their fully functioning male bodies - the term transgender becomes more meaningless with each passing year. Eddie Izzard, a once proud transvestite, has now ludicrously self-identified as 'transgender' and is enjoying all the associated perks of that trendy status - like using women's toilets when he's in quote "girl mode". Ignoring the very real risk to women and girls of straight male transvestites/autogynephiles using legally sanctioned female-only public spaces like changing rooms, domestic violence shelters, women's hospital wards and prisons, is a disaster for safeguarding - and will ultimately backfire on the entire trans community. Google 'Karen White' for one example, a predatory male rapist and paedophile who successfully talked his way into a women's prison with a bogus 'trans woman' identity, and proceeded to sexually assault two female inmates. If I were an authentic trans woman like Fay Presto I'd be hugely concerned about the policies and philosophies being pushed in my name by mostly heterosexual transvestites/autogynephiles claiming a bogus trans identity. I hope she will once more proudly fly the flag for trans people, by calling out the dangerous dogma and disinformation that underpins the slogan 'trans women are women'.

[@skyrideabc]

Are you ok?

[@winnierose81]

Everyone has a different, personal, and winding path to achieving their dreams and truths. With kindness and compassion, I’ll tell you that it’s always sad to me when people try to suggest that non-op trans women are not women. That they’re jumping on a fad or, in some cases, they are scary rapists. But I wouldn’t say that I’m surprised. They used to say something very similar about homosexual men in men’s spaces not so long ago. And, depending on how you are raised or your environment, it might be easy to believe - which is genuinely sad to me and I feel bad for you. This fabulous and inspiring entertainer is not hiding her truth, rather she’s just more aware of the nuances of gender identity than you might be. While I recognize that you have respect for some trans identities, because you said repeatedly that she should be proud of her achievements as a transgender woman, I’d invite you to look at your feelings about gender identity and trans rights a bit closer, and I genuinely hope you will. I, as a non-op transgender woman, get harassed frightened by the notion of entering women’s spaces. I get misgendered frequently, no matter how femme I am presenting. But I try to be brave, because I’m simply trying to make my way down that winding path. I don’t know what your gender identity is, nor do I have the mental capacity to worry about it. I already have enough to worry about. I just want to be clear that you are not more equal than I am. And, when you dehumanize anyone, you probably aren’t the hero in the story.

[@apostatereacts]

That was a lot of words merely to announce your view that every transgender person should declare their natal sex whenever they're interviewed. Yeah, it sounds stupid when put so bluntly, doesn't it? Because it is. 🤷‍♂️

[@glamdolly30]

​@@apostatereacts Fay Presto's extreme position has come about as a direct result of strident, anti female, anti gay and anti child safeguarding gender cult. Modern trans extremism is the biggest attack on hard-won women's rights the world has ever seen. 100 years ago, the Suffragettes merely fought for the right to vote - today women are fighting for the exclusive right to their very name, and their most basic sex based rights and recognitions. Today trans identified males are not only invading the female public spaces reserved for women and girls (among them female toilets, changing rooms, hospital wards and domestic violence shelters), they're even muscling into women's sports, stealing places and prizes meant for women and girls. We recently witnessed a new low - biological male boxers punching female boxers in the head, in contests that should never have been allowed. One woman reported being hit by her trans opponent was like nothing she had ever experienced. No wonder. A man's punch has 160 times the power of a woman's. I've only scratched the surface of the scandals erupting globally due to gender cult. That you care more about the deluded demands of a minority of trans identified men, than you do the fundamental rights of the female half of the population, reveals more about you than you realise.

[@glamdolly30]

​ @apostatereacts Fay Presto's extreme position has come about as a direct result of strident, anti female, anti gay and anti child safeguarding gender cult. Modern trans extremism is the biggest attack on hard-won women's rights the world has ever seen. 100 years ago, the Suffragettes merely fought for the right to vote - today women are fighting for the exclusive right to their very name, and their most basic sex based rights and recognitions. Today trans identified males are not only invading the female public spaces reserved for women and girls (among them female toilets, changing rooms, hospital wards and domestic violence shelters), they're even muscling into women's sports, stealing places and prizes meant for women and girls. We recently witnessed a new low - biological male boxers punching female boxers in the head, in contests that should never have been allowed. One woman reported being hit by her trans opponent was like nothing she had ever experienced. No wonder. A man's punch has 160 times the power of a woman's. I've only scratched the surface of the scandals erupting globally due to gender cult. That you care more about the deluded demands of a minority of trans identified men, than you do the fundamental rights of the female half of the population, reveals more about you than you realise.

[@magicmagician2510]

I read she is a trans gender

[@vivienneandersson6019]

So what?

[@patriciaclements8985]

And your point is?