Interview: Branko (the bold) and Branka (the beautiful)

CIL has heard intriguing rumours about a Croatian magical act, which had appeared at places
such as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. We soon caught up with Branko and Branka, and observed
their act. Amongst other things, CIL discovered the state of Croatian magic and their patriotism -
Branko will refuse to consummate his marriage to Branka until Croatia is part of the EU.

We spoke to them - or rather their alter egos Alex Frances and Rob Sutton - about their
entertaining act.

Both are actors who met whilst working a the London Dungeon. Rob has acted and written and is
relatively new to the business. Alex is an established actress, who is now doing some comedy.
She is no stranger to Croatia, having visited it in the past - and indeed knows a few
words of Croatian.

We swiftly subjected them to our questioning... we asked how it all came about.

Alex: I always go on about the Croatian influence in my life and the magic thing came up.

Why do you have that influence?

Alex: As a young actor, I went out to Croatia. I was just absolutely gobsmacked by the country
and their attitude to theatre. It was dream to go and do some theatre in Croatia. I went to see some productions of Hamlet, I saw some amazing productions in Dubrovnik, in Split. Seeing Shakespeare out there was phenomenal, the language mainly. I started learning Croatian then, I really wanted to master this language and go out there and do some theatre.

I met a lot of Croatian people, been out there loads, mix with the Croatian Students and Young Professionals Network, which is great place to meet people.

It something I’m really proud of and interested in and it sprung from that.

We spoke to a quite a few Croatian friends about Magic and magicians in Croatia - there aren’t any really.

Rob: From working together, we have a really good rapport, we know what makes each other laugh. That whole magician thing grew out of things we used to laugh about at work.. Alex does quite a lot of burlesque stuff as well.

We did a lot of research for the show. I watched a film (with Goran Ivanisevic), I realised how beautiful it is. I was stunned with the scenery, the lifestyle.

Our act is not about taking the mickey, it’s using the Croatian way of life.

Alex: It’s taking people from a completely different culture, shoving them in London and watching them trying to survive.

It’s not the Croatian ‘Borat’ then?

Rob: No! We don’t want to go in and offend people or make them look stupid.

Alex: They really believe in themselves, they really think they are the best magicians on the planet, that the translation of their scripts is perfect. Unfortunately it isn’t!

Rob: We watched a lot of David Copperfield. He’s almost East European in how he does his humour.

Alex: Every Croatian person I spoke about magic just said ‘Copperfield’. “I love David Copperfield, I don’t know any Croatian magicians’. It’s quite funny seeing a Croatian couple trying to be the new Copperfield.

Rob: They have a very sad marriage - he’s not particularly interested in her. She’s probably the most talented of the two to them, but he’s such a bully.

We’ve had some acts where people think we are actually Croatian. They didn’t get the humour until half way through.

How many Croats have seen it?

Rob: We’d like some Croatians to come and see it!

Alex: I hope they come and laugh loudly.

Alex and Rob are even doing a documentary on the characters,
following them as they come over to London.

And you can see them as part of the Wam Bam club which starts
at 7.30 PM on 22 October at The Battersea Barge, Nine Elms Lane.
Nearest Tube: Vauxhall.

More details at: www.brankobranka.info

............................................................................................................. Branko and Branka climb the ladder of success

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Branko and Branka - Croatian magical act, The Wam Bam club, at 7.30 PM on 22 October at The Battersea Barge, Nine Elms Lane. Nearest Tube: Vauxhall

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