When he was four years old, a visit to the circus left Nicolai Friedrich in awe. For the first time he watched what a magician could do, and realised, he wanted to be one himself. Years down the line, Nicholai has done some fantastic things. He has predicted the outcomes of football games on live television, known newspaper headlines before they hit print and once, even flown a plane blindfolded. “Every magic trick is based upon science; otherwise it would be supernatural. That’s why my brand of magic does not happen on stage, but rather, in the mind of the audience,” says the German mentalist, over an E-mail interview.
Mental magic, explains Nicolai, is a special discipline of magic. Mentalists do not use big boxes the way illusionists do, nor do they don the magician’s cloak to make white rabbits pop out of black top hats. Instead, they try to access the minds of the audience, resulting in mind-reading and thought manipulation. “However, mental magic is a mixture of psychology, suggestion and magic. It has nothing to do with supernatural powers though it seems to look like that.”
Nicolai, though, believes in the supernatural world. He trusts that the impossible can be achieved.
While growing up, becoming a magician seemed like a feat impossible to achieve, but today, he explains, he is regarded a true magician when he performs to an audience. He holds their attention with incredible mind games and leaves them wondering how he accomplished the many impossible feats he sets out to do on stage. He is, for all practical purposes, a magician. “There are experiences only magic can produce and moments which only mentalism can achieve. So combining these arts creates a versatile and stunning experience.”
Nicolai has preformed across the world — Germany, India, Russia, Dubai. While the visual gimmicks remain the same, each act is customised according to the audience. “For example, this one time I was performing in Russia, and the audience didn’t understand English. So I cut down on the verbal acts and amped up the visual ones.” Now, the mentalist is coming to the city for the first time for a fund-raiser show in aid of charity, organised by Madras Mylapore Round Table 3 and Madras Mylapore Ladies Circle. “The audience are in for some mind-boggling mentalism. But to know what I mean, you have to come see me.”
(Nicolai Friedrich will take the stage at Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall at 7 p.m. on October 31. For passes, call 9940174175)
