A woman who was kicked out of the Magic Circle for pretending to be a man has been allowed back into the prestigious society after more than 30 years. Sophie Lloyd wore a male disguise in 1991 to trick the organisation into letting her in, before its men-only rule was axed the same year.
She is being honoured by the organisation at a ceremony on Thursday (April 24), with her membership reinstated. Ms Lloyd told the BBC she was “beyond thrilled” to be back in the club. The magician explained how she was tracked down by Magic Circle chairwoman Laura London, who she was initially unsure of meeting until she got to know her “vivacious” personality. Ms Lloyd said her friend, the magician Jenny Winstanley, had suggested she disguise herself to get admitted. The then-actress took the name Raymond Lloyd.
She wore men’s clothing and was able to fool her fellow male magicians by using gloves to disguise her female hands. She also wore a bodysuit and pretended she had laryngitis so her voice didn’t give her away.
The magician was a member for around six months, until the Magic Circle was poised to admit women and Ms Winstanley revealed the truth.
Ms Lloyd said Ms Winstanley, who has since died, came off the phone with the organisation “quite surprised” by getting a bad reaction and was “very hurt” with the backlash from male magicians.
She added: “We couldn’t get our heads around it, (we thought) ‘Come on, it’s funny, it’s amusing’, but they didn’t think so, and Jenny was completely snubbed unfortunately.”
Ms Lloyd continued doing magic, having an “anti-bullying” touring show with illusions for another decade.
She will be presented with her membership certificate by the society’s president Marvin Berglas at a special show at its London headquarters later on Thursday evening.
Ms London said: “I felt it important that the Magic Circle should be able to recognise Sophie as the role model for women magicians as well as show that we are now a completely open society.”
The Magic Circle was founded in 1905 by around 20 magicians at a restaurant in Chinatown, London. In September 1991, the group voted 469 for and 129 against admitting women members.
The Magic Circle is known for its strict rules, which include the vow every member takes not to give away the secrets of magic.
Famous members have included the King, MPs, Sir Stephen Fry, David Copperfield, Dynamo, Debbie McGee and the puppet Sooty. It has more than 1,700 members and is based in Euston, London.
