Africa's only school for young stage magicians and illusionists was illegal under apartheid
NPR describes the school as a real-world Hogwarts: Africa's only school for youthful stage magicians and illusionists. Every Saturday morning, about 190 students ages 10 to 18 attend classes in everything from puppetry, mime and clowning to juggling, card tricks, illusions, mentalism, stage magic, theater production and escapology.
When the school started, South Africa was in the grip of apartheid, a system of racial segregation that dictated almost every aspect of daily life. David Gore says the organization was illegal, referring to its no-segregation policy.
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The most subversive trick was administrative: a no-segregation policy in a country where apartheid shaped daily life.
The illegality is the dramatic hook, but the curriculum is the better argument: 190 students a week, ages 10 to 18, learning escapology alongside mime and mentalism.