TWO friends are hoping to cast a spell over top magicians Penn and Teller – and win a chance to perform in Las Vegas.

Richard Young, from Cowley, and Sam Strange, from Eynsham, who perform as Young and Strange, will appear on ITV1 show Penn and Teller: Fool Us on Saturday at 8pm.

The duo, both aged 26, who have been creating large-scale illusions together for about two years, auditioned for the show earlier this year and were picked to perform a trick on TV alongside magicians from all over the UK.

Each act has one shot to perform a trick of their choice and if Penn and Teller are unable to detect how it was done, they win a trip to Las Vegas to appear at the magicians’ show at the Rio Hotel and Casino.

Mr Young said: “There will be some of the best magicians in the world on the TV show and somehow we are on there as well, it’s really exciting.

“We didn’t know until recently that we would appear on the show. The production team warned us we might go through the whole process and not get shown.

“If we had screwed up the trick on the night we weren’t going to get another shot at it.”

The pair are not allowed to reveal if they successfully fooled Penn and Teller, but Mr Young said they were complimentary about Young and Strange.

Mr Young added: “Our trick is one you may have seen other magicians do but the secret to it, the way we make it happen, we believe is unique to us.”

Their act combines magic with comedy and they cite Penn and Teller and illusionist David Copperfield as among their inspirations and heroes.

Mr Young said: “The prize isn’t money – it’s every magician’s dream, which is to perform in Las Vegas.

“This has got to be our biggest opportunity to do this, not to mention our biggest gig so far.

“The tricks we do are spectacular, but rather than very cheesy illusions you may have seen, we do it with a comedic twist.”

Mr Strange said: “It’s amazing to think that this time two years ago, Richard and I were just rival magicians trying to make individual names for ourselves.

“Now we are performing together in front of millions of viewers on national primetime television.”

Since getting together, the pair have performed sell-out gigs in Thame, Didcot and Chipping Norton and will take their show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for a month this summer.