Magic and mystery had the audience gasping in disbelief at the Peel Centenary Centre.

Seven well-known Manx magicians performed a series of tricks, stunts and illusions that boggled the mind, confused the eye and amazed the crowd at the benefit concert organised by the Magicians of Mann and the Friends of the Centenary Centre on Saturday evening.

The evening was hosted by local trickster and associate of The Inner Magic Circle in London , Mike Clague, who also performed a few of his own favourite acts.

Kids favourite Chris Burns opened the show, and immediately had the children in the crowd in stitches. Bringing two volunteers on to the stage, he then engaged in a riotous slapstick routine that involved him being walloped several times with an over-sized magic wand.

He later returned to the stage, and wowed the crowd by levitating 10 year-old Luka Quirk.

Rosalie Beaumont performed a routine based around memorising a school book, and later returned to help her son, former Young Magician of Mann Giles Beaumont, on stage with a version of the classic sword-sticking trick, by placing several metal blades through a box around Giles’ imprisoned head.

Lexi Dernie also impressed with a choice of well-executed magic tricks, involving a disappearing dice and a magic top hat.

Local magic man Paul Martin stunned the crowd with a stunning display of card tricks, and even appeared to guess the number on a lottery ticket with help from six random volunteers, eliciting audible gasps as each correct number appeared.

Chris Boardman, a local magician who has worked professionally in the UK, finished off the night with a slick show of rope tricks and an impossible-looking trick involving a set of solid metal rings.

Mike thanked all those who helped organise the event.