Sawing a woman in half
Sawing a woman in half is a famous stage magic trick. It has gone through many different versions, dating from "Sawing Through A Woman", which was designed and first performed by P.T. Selbit in 1921. Later the same year, Horace Goldin, a magician working in the United States, presented the first version which modern audiences would recognise. Whereas Selbit's assistant had been hidden from view throughout, but secured by ropes held by audience members, Goldin's assistant was in a box from which her feet and head (and in some cases hands) protruded.
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The basic effect
An assistant (usually a woman) lies down in a large, horizontal box, from which her feet and head protrude. The magician appears to saw her in two with a large saw. The two halves are separated, yet the assistant appears to be fine. Sometimes the sides of the box are opened, revealing the assistant's arms and legs. Eventually, the two halves are rejoined, and the assistant exits the box unharmed.
Variations
Some magicians, such as the Pendragons, have performed this trick with no box. Other magicians have divided their assistants into more than two pieces. In the 'double sawing illusion', the magician saws two people in half (usually in different colored costumes, of different races, or of different genders) and restores them with the other's lower half.
Famous Performances
There have been many famous performances of this illusion in some of the many different forms the illusion takes.
In 1956, Indian illusionist P. C. Sorcar used a buzzsaw to cut his wife in two during a televised performance. Just when he had divided her the host quickly signed off and the show ended. This caused horrified viewers to believe the poor woman had accidentally been killed. In reality, it was a live broadcast and time had run out.
By far the most famous of the modern performances is David Copperfield's Death Saw, which is presented as an escape gone wrong. This illusion has topped polls for "Greatest Illusion" and similar, but is actually performed using a tried and tested method, which has been particularly well staged.
Jim Steinmeyer created a new illusion called Modern Art, in which the female assistant stands inside an upright box, the top half of which is then moved to one side and placed on a table. This illusion is visually similar to the Zig Zag Girl, and has taken the place of that illusion for many magicians. Performances of note include that of Magic Unlimited and the Pendragons, with the latter performing a routine which consciously reflects the routine performed by Harbin, the inventor of the Zig Zag Girl.
How it works
One version of Goldin's illusion
A woman enters the box and curls herself up in the top half. The box is usually more spacious that it appears. Audience only sees the box from one angle, so the box is elongated in the audience's direction, increasing the depth and size of the box without making it look bigger.
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Top View
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+-----+ +-----+
|O+-< | |o |
+-----+ | X |
+-----+
^ ^
| |
Audience Audience
Members Members
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Audience's view
(side view or "head on" view)
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+-----+ +-----+
| | | |
+-----+ +-----+
They look the same size.
Another variant has a false table on which the box rests. This allows the carved out table to be used as a place for the woman to crawl up in and avoid the saw.
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Audience's view
(side view or "head on" view)
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+-------+ +-------+
| Box | | |
+-------+ + ---+
+-------------+ +--- ------+
Table --> +-------------+ +-------------+
| | | |
| | | |
The box appears In reality, the
to the audience table is
as if it rests hollowed out
on top of a and connected
solid table. to the box,
creating a
cavity for the
woman to avoid
the saw.
Her feet are replaced with fakes that are moved with electric motors. Another variant of the trick hides another person in the carved out table space and has her insert her feet
+--------------------------------------------+
| |
| | |
| | |
| ====|==|
| / |
| / |
| / |
+------------------------------- / ---+
+--------------------------------------- / ------------+
| / |
| / |
| ========The second woman========= | <--False Table
| |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
The magician then saws through empty space.
Another version of the illusion
The second variation is purely contraption-based. The woman does not need to contort herself. A magician places a brace around a girl lying on a table. He then passes a jigsaw through her body. The brace actually detaches the jigsaw's blade when it enters the body on one end. As the saw exits on the other side, the brace reattaches a new blade onto the jigsaw.
See also
- hemicorporectomy - when a person is actually cut in half
