When South Africa was ruled by apartheid, the law strictly segregated daily life by race, banning people of different backgrounds from sharing classrooms, buses, or even park benches. In 1980, law student and part-time performer David Gore chose to defy those restrictions by launching the College of Magic in Cape Town. Operating outside the law as a multiracial school from its very first day, the institution was created to bring young people together through a shared passion for performance and illusion.
More than four decades later, the organization remains Africa's only training center for aspiring young magicians. Housed in a Victorian mansion framed by palm trees, the school welcomes around 190 students aged 10 to 18 every Saturday morning. Pupils spend their weekends mastering disciplines ranging from unicycling and juggling to mentalism, sleight of hand, and escapology. At a recent junior competition, 11-year-old apprentice Lubelo Mthenjana captivated an audience of parents and classmates by vanishing paper clips into a cup and producing sweets from thin air.
Although apartheid ended in the 1990s, Cape Town remains deeply divided along economic and racial lines. The College of Magic works deliberately to overcome these divisions. While some students arrive in private family cars, others take an hour-long ride in collective taxis from impoverished townships. Because roughly 80 percent of students cannot afford the tuition for the six-year curriculum, the school relies on private donations to sponsor their training. Once inside the building, every student uses the same equipment, shares the same meals, and rehearses on the same stages.
School founder David Gore emphasizes that magic is uniquely suited to South Africa because it requires skill rather than wealth, allowing performers to carry their craft directly in their pockets back to their neighborhoods. Beyond entertainment, educators point to broader developmental benefits. A 2021 study by researchers at the Universities of Hertfordshire and Edinburgh found that children who learned and performed magic tricks showed greater gains in creative fluency and originality than peers engaged in traditional arts activities.