Arthur Coghlan and Helen

Arthur Coghlan & Helen

Arthur Coghlan and his daughter, Helen, have been entertaining audiences for many years. Their show is full of comedy, audience participation and world-class magic and illusions.

Their escapes are amazing and always leave the spectators completely astounded.

Arthur designs and builds all of his own illusions and, because of his incredible successes, he is much sought-after for his role as consultant and advisor.

Penn & Teller have described Arthur and Helen as ‘two of the finest minds in magic’. 

Arthur has written a book revealing the secrets to his unique escapes. The Original Escapes of Arthur Coghlan – Updated Edition is now in its third reprint. See the Secrets Revealed page for more information.

We invite you to find out more about Arthur, Helen and the escapes that have Arthur recognised as “the Greatest Escape Artist Australia has ever known”.

In brief...

December 2023: Helen becomes the only magician to fool PENN & TELLER a record-breaking SIX times on Fool Us. This episode aired in the US on The CW network on December 22nd. Watch Helen’s performance on the Videos page.

December 2022: An updated edition of Arthur’s 2007 best-selling book The Original Escapes of Arthur Coghlan is now available. This book features two of the escapes that fooled Penn & Teller and, as a bonus, now also includes the Milk Trick that Helen fooled the duo with on her first appearance in 2018. Check the Secrets Revealed page for more information.

October 2022: Helen becomes the first person in the world to fool Las Vegas magicians Penn & Teller on their hit TV show Penn & Teller: Fool Us a record FIVE times.  

21st March 2022: Arthur and Helen feature on tonight’s episode of Australian Story on ABC TV. Introduced by Penn and Teller. Watch this heart-warming episode on iView or YouTube.

October 2021: Helen has managed to fool world-renowned magicians Penn & Teller a record FOUR times on their hit international TV show Penn & Teller: Fool Us. Helen was unable to get to Las Vegas due to COVID so, instead, performed an escape on the beach on Australia’s Gold Coast. It didn’t take long for Penn & Teller to concede and award her with a fourth trophy.

14th June 2021: Arthur is awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the performing arts as a magician and escapologist.

May 2021: Arthur is a guest on ABC Radio’s Conversations program. Listen to the podcast here

January/February 2021: Helen has been named in the lineup for James Galea’s Best Trick Ever at the Sydney Opera House from 2 January – 14 February 2021. 

June 2020: Helen became the first person in the world to fool world-renowned magicians Penn & Teller three times on their hit TV show Penn & Teller: Fool Us which was filmed in Las Vegas.

17th-20th October 2019: Arthur and Helen are organisers of GC Magic 2019 Magic Convention on the Gold Coast.

June 2019: Helen fools Penn & Teller for the second time in a row. She is the only female and the only Australian to fool them twice and the only Escapologist to ever fool them.

July 2018: Helen fools Penn & Teller on their hit TV show Penn & Teller: Fool Us.

10th October 2015: Arthur and Helen are organising Music, Magic & Mirth- Variety Spectacular. All proceeds from this concert will go to Variety Children’s Charity and also to Brain Cancer research. These leading performers will keep you entertained in this 2-hour show – they are all donating their time for these worthwhile charities.

May 2010: Arthur was given the honour of magically producing a new book from the Gold Coast City Council entitled Now and Then at their book launch. This book takes us down memory lane and includes The Magic Castle.

October 2009: Arthur, who was a regular on The Don Lane Show thanks the man who made his career and remembers him fondly.

June 2009: Vaudeville is Back – The Good Old Days morning melodies charity concert held on June 9th was such a huge hit that planning is already underway for next year’s concert.

February 2009: Arthur and Helen performed in a charity concert at the Southport Sharks to help raise funds for the Victorian Bushfire Appeal.

May 2008: It’s official! Arthur has been voted one of the top 30 icons on the Gold Coast.

March 2008: Local Legends Variety Spectacular 2008 deemed a huge success. This charity concert organised by Arthur and Helen raised in excess of $10,000 for local charities.

October 2007: Arthur’s brand new book, The Original Escapes of Arthur Coghlan which reveals the secrets to his famous escapes, was released at Cannon’s 5th Annual Escapes Convention in Ontario, California, USA.

October 2007: At the same convention, Arthur was the recipient of the 2007 Silver Cuffs Award.