DERREN Brown’s visit to Scarborough’s Futurist Theatre proved hugely popular, as hundreds of people gathered to see the famous “mind-reading” magician perform his new live show, Svengali.

But he may soon have a rival to contend with in the form of Chris Rawlins, 21, who lives in the Huntington area of York.

As a second-year English student at York St John University, he has an interest in a variety of literature, but Chris’s true passion is magic and psychological trickery.

In the true manner of a magician, he can literally pull a trick out of thin air. With hardly the time to premeditate or plan, out comes the deck of cards, the coin, the scrap of paper – and the baffling begins.

Using psychological ideas and mind processes, initiative and inspiration, he’ll tell you the serial number of a bank note that’s been in your wallet all day, or give you the number on your credit card, or figure out your pin number.

Out in the streets of York, Chris will catch the eye of a passer-by and beckon him to one side, asking him for a coin. The man reaches into his wallet and takes out a regular 10p. After the man takes a note of the date, and even signs the coin on one side, he is told to clench it in his fist. He is then told to rub his fingers and thumbs together, and is asked to feel for a change in his hand. He detects a sudden sense of warmth, opens his fist and the 10p is revealed-markedly bent.

Chris, who has recently written a book about his growing career, Mind Experiments, is already an accomplished showman, and fellow students have long been amazed by what he can do.

But in June everyone else can see him perform at York’s Grand Opera House on Saturday June 18 at 8pm, as part of the ‘York Arts Barge Project.’ Tickets for the June performance can be booked by going to: www.grandoperahouseyork.org.uk. Prepare to be amazed.