Dr Nik Taylor is a researcher and performance magician at the University of Huddersfield, investigating the cultural history and practice of illusion, séance, and the Gothic. He serves as Chief Editor of The Journal of Performance Magic. His research examines how performers and audiences collaboratively construct the impossible. Building on his 2022 project, ‘Performing Real Magic(K)’, his current practice-based research explores the function of autobiography within magic and the structural variations of the séance. His scholarly work frequently informs applied theatrical contexts, including consultancy for the Thackray Medical Museum and Proper Job Theatre. His public-facing research includes co-curating Mr Punch’s Cabinet of Curiosities and creating the short film Séance: A View Through the Veil.
He is a member of The Magic Circle.
