Magician Nicolai Friedrich has a healthy obsession with psychology. Somewhat. He reads the physical cues in a person’s body language to guess — or rather, guesstimate — her reaction to a certain move. The result? Magic and a stumped audience. At the media preview ahead of the award-winning mentalist’s UAE show at the Meyana Auditorium at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai, on November 25, Friedrich turned on the charm.
Going around to each table, the illusionist demonstrated card tricks and ring-disappearing acts, much to the squeals of fascinated onlookers. Talking to Gulf News tabloid!, Friedrich explained that his association with illusion and magic has been a long one — he was only four when the spell took hold and at 18, he was already performing mind-reading antics. Now, after many years, he brings something interesting to Dubai. “I promise an unforgettable experience with a WOW factor. My show is a unique mixture of visual illusions and mind-blowing mental magical experiments. The audience members will not only watch the show but become part of it. Besides the demonstration of lie detection or reading body language I will give some insights about how to apply these knowledge in everyday life,” he added in an email interview.
The Prestige-loving lean gent was dressed in a black ensemble at the preview in Bazxar, DIFC, and looked about ready to levitate and hypnotise — his shirt sleeves rolled up, his arms bare, he showed us the limits he places on himself, before doing the seemingly impossible — making cards multiply under my palm, making my ring disappear from his hand only to reappear on a keychain in his back pocket. The mentalist is good at catering to his audience. But what is his own favourite trick? “Actually I do not have a single favourite. All the acts I perform are my favourites [and] that’s probably why my show is so entertaining,” the soft-spoken magic man says.
“But of course I am very proud of the effects I created myself. Those acts took years till they reached perfection, for example the Mona Lisa or the photo experiment. Both acts won me highest awards at the World Championship of Magic in Lisbon and Beijing.”
And he has something special in store for Dubai. “One of my newest creations is an incredible mind-reading act where a spectator from the audience becomes the mind reader!
“Also, right now for Dubai, I have an incredible stunt in mind which I may be perform[ing] during my stay in Dubai, but since it is not confirmed yet I would like to keep it a secret,” he says.
Back at Bazxar, while he makes us roll dice — not, of course showing him the number it stops at — he explains how mentalists use the power of suggestion and psychology to dupe their subjects into giving themselves away. “Besides magical principles, a mentalist uses psychological tricks and principles as well as the power of suggestion,” he explains.
And yet, the math of magic is rather simple, says Friedrich. “You have to be passionate about what you do and of course you have to practice, practice and practice some more. However it is also crucial to go out and perform for real-world audiences. Don‘t try to learn magic on the internet. The real treasures and secrets of magic are still hidden in books.”
And that’s the real trick: hard work equals success. Abracadabra!
