Clarence And The Magic Thingammyjig by Ali Bongo, Ken Brooke

Ali Bongo’s children’s routine is a true gem. Ali developed this routine by 1969 when he sold the rights to Ken Brooke. Four years later, Ken unveiled this magical masterpiece in all its glory, and it’s truly remarkable.

The props have a solid and tactile quality to them, and while the routine is simple, it’s precisely what a skilled children’s entertainer can leverage for maximum impact. It almost tempts me to consider returning to children’s shows (almost!).

What’s great about this routine is that it’s always ready to go, requiring no setup, and you can involve as many audience members as you like. One particularly clever suggestion in the instructions is to let the birthday child use the Thingammyjig to discover Clarence on their own, without any magician intervention. It’s a brilliant use of the prop and should be a standard practice for the special child’s involvement.

This is easily one of the finest children’s props I’ve come across. I just wish I had known about it 47 years ago 🙂

Effect:  A fun hide-and-seek adventure for children. Cover three wooden soldiers with different colored cloth bags. Ask a child from the audience to rearrange the soldiers’ order and bag color. Watch your audience’s reaction as the color of The Magic Thingammy Jig amazingly finds Clarence, the only sentry with a green bearskin helmet. Crafted in the fine Ken Brooke tradition.

Letter from Michael Rogers (Satisfied customer): One of the towns on my recent lecture tour was Peoria, III. While there I was the guest of Gary Bontjes and his charming wife. On this trip I was travelling with my wile and six-year-old daughter, and my little girl was having a grand time with Gary’s two children. Gary and I were having a fine time in his library when a device on one of his shelves kept catching my eye. It was three tent-like things lined up on a stand. I finally asked Gary to show me the thing with the three coloured tents and this turned out to be Ali Bongo’s ‘CLARENCE AND THE MAGIC THINGAMMYJIG’ which Gary had recently received from you. When Gary lifted the tents showing the British soldiers I stopped him until I could call my small daughter. Our little girl loved the palace guards in London and I knew she would like the trick with the toy soldiers.

Gary did the routine for us and I’m delighted to say that the entire effect held my little girl spellbound from start to finish. She fell in love with the thing from the start and was delighted when Gary had her get in the game by moving the soldiers around and deciding which tent should cover each soldier. It was a serious business for her and she loved every moment of it. Keep in mind that at her age, she actually believes in magic.

The routine was perfect and it pleased her. As you probably know Ken, I don’t personally do any kid shows because I’m not good at them. So I have to evaluate this effect by watching my little girl’s reaction whilst Gary did the routine. He does an excellent job of entertaining children, and with this effect he was in top form. Hence, I’ll certainly suggest that anyone wanting a beautiful routine for children should get the THINGAMMYJIG. In addition to being a fine routine the equipment is beautifully made and a pleasure to look at.

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