The re-appearing magician
At the height of my career in the early 90s my television show ‘Wayne Dobson – A Kind of Magic’ was getting 11 million viewers every Saturday. But I was hiding a secret. I’d been diagnosed with MS in 1988.
I remember getting my first magic set for Christmas at the age of nine. That’s where the love for it all started. At 16 I started performing. I loved bringing my passion to other people and I was good at it! I went professional at 21, performing in the clubs across the country. I’ve never had a ‘proper’ job since. I toured with Freddie Starr and performed at The Royal Variety.
First signs of MS
I remember my first symptom being numbness down my right side. I was sat in the bath after a gig in Holland and couldn’t feel the hot water down one side at all. I was 29 when this happened. I felt like I still had my whole career and life ahead of me. I convinced myself if I didn’t tell anyone, it wasn’t actually happening.
Find out more about early signs of MS
I felt that eventually it would all have to come out. But I wasn’t ready. I’d been trying to hide my symptoms, which were now affecting my performances. I told everyone I had really bad sciatica. But the papers were publishing stories about me being on drugs or having AIDs.
One day, I knew I couldn’t keep the secret of my MS anymore. I was now relying on a stick to help me walk. I lost the show and thought that was the end of my performing.
I did small shows here and there after that and toured with Joe Pasquale for a while. I lost the feeling in my legs, and was using a wheelchair on a daily basis. Then my right arm went, but I was fine with that for a while because I could still use my left. I changed all my magic to one handed so I could still perform. Until I woke up one day and my left arm had started to stop working.
Going out on a high
Magic is all about make-believe. So let’s pretend we can travel back in time… back 20 years.
I’d just finished my performance in Denver, Colorado to a full 2,000-seat theatre. After, I was wheeled into my dressing room following three generous ovations. I sat there, alone, looking at myself in the mirror. And I said to myself “That’s it. I’m done.”
I wanted to go out on a high. I just didn’t believe audiences would keep on standing for a performer in a wheelchair. Since then, I’ve scratched the itch by performing for magicians at the largest magic conventions around the world. I’ve also invented magic for some of the world’s top magicians.
I’ve done big shows and small, I’ve even levitated in my wheelchair! The response I’ve had is overwhelming, incredible and fantastic. My fans still respect me and see me as Wayne Dobson. I’m still the same person, I just wear a different overcoat.
With all the ups and downs of my life, it was magic that gave me purpose. But I must own up. I never quite made my peace with no longer performing for the public. I’ve dreamt more than once of venturing back onto the theatre stage.
Getting the stage call
During lockdown, I got that special email asking me to perform again. How could I resist? It was only a small audience, but the itch was finally being scratched! The audience were fantastic, so welcoming and blew me away. I was so nervous about how they would take me.
A magician in a wheelchair is unheard of but, for me, it works. My friend Mike Sullivan is my hands. I’m still the brains and frontman. The rush I felt when getting my standing ovation told me I had to do it again and again. So I am. Only a few dates to start with, but we’re building up to something much bigger.
The MS Society and other organisations are supporting great research in MS, and who knows what they’ll find. I wish I could wave my magic wand and make MS vanish. But, unfortunately, I’m not that good of a magician!
Wayne is making a return to the West End at the magic and illusion show ‘One Night Only - An Evening with Wayne Dobson and Friends’. The show will be staged at His Majesty’s Theatre on Sunday 17 September 2023. Part of the proceeds will go to support the MS Society.
