Cabinet escape

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The Cabinet Escape is the classic escapology trick, where the magician is trapped in a cabinet and required to escape from it. Often, the magician can be bound in handcuffs, rope, and sacks before being placed in the cabinet.

Almost inevitably the cabinet is a trick - this is evident from the fact that you will almost never see a trick of this type end with the magician actually stepping out of the cabinet in a normal way. One simple possibility is that the back panel of the cabinet contains a door through which the magician can escape; to prevent this door from being discovered under inspection, a catch is arranged which prevents the door from opening while the front door is open.

Thus, the magician can be bound and tied by whatever means. The cabinet can then be inspected: if a stooge inspector is used, the front door can be closed and then the stooge (out of sight) can pretend to check the inside to confirm there are no doors. If a member of the public is invited to check the cabinet, in the rare event that they express a wish to close the front door with themselves inside, they can easily be dissuaded ("we don't want you getting trapped in there!").

A more sophisticated catch can be devised also; for example, one that requires the front door to have been opened once and then closed again can allow the inspection of the closed cabinet; one that requires the front door to have been opened and closed twice can indeed allow a public inspector to be trapped inside the cabinet for a moment.

When the magician enters the cabinet, an accomplice steps out from directly behind the cabinet, hidden from audience view by the cabinet. The magician is sealed in the cabinet. Immediately they lean their weight against the back wall, falling out of the back of the cabinet with the noise hidden by a drum roll or similar effect. The accomplice can then unseal the cabinet and carry the magician away (again remaining directly behind the cabinet and so out of sight) to have any binding ropes cut or handcuffs unlocked.