Let me describe the final illusion in the Copperfield show. Thirteen members of the audience (chosen at random) go up on stage and sit inside a sort of open-fronted 'box'. The front of the box is covered for a moment, and when it is opened again they have all vanished, only to re-appear instantly at the back of the theatre.

When I went to see the show, I happened to be one of the lucky thirteen.

Let me stress a few points before I go on:

• I have nothing but the highest praise and admiration for David Copperifeld, and all that he has achieved
• I regard him as not just the greatest stage illusionist of our times, but the best there has ever been
• I have seen three Copperfield shows, and all of them have been superb in every regard

Once we had re-appeared and waved to the audience, we were led to a small backstage area where we had to wait until the rest of the audience had left the theatre. Two of Copperfield's entourage guarded us. They thanked us in an overly effusive, gushing manner which to my ears sounded 100% insincere. "You guys were awesome, thank you so much! You were all great! The best ever" and similar nonsense. Rather kindly, I thought, they played us a tape of what the illusion looks like from the audience's point of view.

Then David himself appeared. He thanked us for our participation. He also asked us not to tell anyone how the illusion was done, and explained the reasons why. He also gave us our reward for our participation and our secrecy: a mass-produced 10 x 8 photo of himself. In case this wasn't quite cheap enough, it was black and white. And in case even this wasn't cheap enogh, he had allegedly signed it. Well, look at the scrawl yourself and see if you can tell who has signed it. I certainly couldn't.

David left, and the two "awesome" girls took us back to the theatre so we could collect our belongings and leave. This is where it gets interesting. I gestured towards my spiffing digital camera, and asked if it would be possible to have a photo taken with the illustrious Mr. Copperfield. I was told that this was not possible, because David had already left and had to see to other business.

Not believing this for an instant, I wandered back into the main body of the theatre. There was Mr Copperfield himself, chatting to a few friends. I went over to him and asked him if I could have a photo. He readily agreed and I got my shot.

Now, that wasn't so hard, was it? What disappointed me was that his team had been told to tell people like me that this was not possible for some reason, and just to get us out of the theatre as quickly as possible. This, after we had helped his final illusion to go well, and after we had promised to keep his illusion's secret safe.

After every Penn & Teller show, the two guys hang around in the lobby, meet and greet people, and make sure everyone gets all the photographs and autographs they want. Rick Thomas does the same, and as his is an afternoon show he pays special attention to the  children. Most of the other perfomers I saw did the same: Mac King, Amazing Johnathan, Lance Burton and so on. But ask David's crew for a simple snapshot and it's "No way, no how". I don't think this is the best policy, really, and I don't think it reflects well on the otherwsie wholly impressive Mr C.

And if you really want to know how David does that final illusion, click here and I'll tell you.