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Blaine's magic box
Evening Standard Last updated at 00:00am on 19.08.03
David Blaine is bringing his show to London for the first time
Magician David Blaine is to be suspended from a crane in a Perspex box without food for 44 days for his next feat of endurance.
The illusionist will be bringing his jaw-dropping feats to the UK for the first time when he enters his tiny temporary home next month.
Sky One and Channel 4 are both to screen the event, entitled David Blaine: Above the Below which kicks off on September 5.
He will live in a box, just seven feet by seven feet deep by three feet and plans to stay there for more than six weeks.
He will have no food, communication or any distractions. His only source of nourishment will be a tube feeding him water and another tube for urination.
It is the first time he has attempted one of his weird feats outside his native US and will take place between Tower Bridge and the GLA building on the banks of the River Thames.
Past stunts have included standing on a 100ft high pole in New York for 35 hours and encasing himself in six tons of ice for three days.
Blaine, who has a third eye tattooed on his palm, said: "There will be no trickery and no means of escape.
"We are all capable of infinitely more than we believe. We are stronger and more resourceful than we know, and we can endure much more than we think we can. In truth, the only restrictions on our capacity to astonish ourselves and each other are imposed by our own minds.
"My next performance will demonstrate these ideas through the most extreme exercise in isolation and physical deprivation ever attempted."
Sky One will show him going into the box live on September 5 at 8pm, with Channel 4 showing the footage three days later at 10pm.
His exit will be live on Sky One on October 19 and screened by Channel 4 on October 20.
Sky One stream live coverage of the event continuously throughout the on its interactive services, while Channel 4 will do so on its website at www.channel4.com/davidblaine.
Blaine will also be performing his street magic in London, prior to his attempt, which will be aired by both stations.
Sky One controller Sara Ramsden said: "David is one of the world's greatest performers. The eyes of the world will be trained on London as he attempts this extraordinary feat."
Channel 4's commissioning editor for entertainment, Katie Taylor, said: "David Blaine is renowned for pushing boundaries - first with his street magic and now with his endurance feats.
Cult filmmaker Harmony Korine will direct the programmes. Asked about his inspiration for the latest stunt, Blaine said: "I have not had time to reflect on my own truths in many years.
"I think pain is easiest to avoid by filling the days with distractions - I wish to remove everything to search for a truth.
"Therefore, I will have no food, no sex, no phones, no books, no music, no television, no privacy and no other stimulus. It will be a public isolation that I will have to endure by adapting and surviving as an animal on instinct."
He added: "I wish to experience a heightened sense of awareness by complete physical deprivation."
