Oops! He did it again!

William W. Lukamto
Oops! Writer
OOPS!
A Singapore Polytechnic publication for students by students
Supported by the Department of Language and Communication, Singapore Polytechnic

Master Alex with his magic box!

Singapore Polytechnic’s Convention Hall was filled with cheers as Dr. A. Alexander a.k.a. ‘Master Magician Alex’ appeared on stage defying gravity. It was an impressive touch of special effect as mist was also used, adding to the overall grand spectacle of his appearance. The levitation however, dragged on for far too long, and broke the spell for some. Minor details like this, mar the essential beauty of his first ever 3-day Live performance from 11-13 August in Singapore. Show highlights included acts based on unusual magic tricks, hypnotism, illusions, black art, and gravity defying wonders and scintillating demonstration of mental magic. 

Master Alex with the moving head – freaky!

Master Magician Alex is a winning combination of doctor, actor and magician. He has a Doctorate in the Social Sciences, and has acted in 80 Tamil movies to date. This is undoubtedly reflected in his ability to refocus the audience’s attention to new magic treats, right after they start losing interest in one of the many magic items he showcased. It is no wonder that he broke into the Guinness World Record for having the longest Magic show, the first Indian magician to do so while pulling off 3,342 tricks non-stop in a time period of 24 hours in 2005.

Hypnotizing his assistants – they float in mid-air!

Though he has only 5 years experience in performing magic, he attributes most of what he knows about magic from the magicians he met during his travels. This shows in the execution of his tricks, which are generally smooth. The problem however, lies with the tricks itself. Even though most of the effects were pretty original, some over-used tricks that are repackaged to ‘look’ different still do not score many points with the more ‘magic literate’ folks. 

Master Alex walking on water…

In Monday’s show however, Master Magician Alex together with his team of 27 reputed artistes in a variety of extravagant illusions managed to thrill the audience made up of largely school going kids, from the Global Indian School. You would think that a huge star was in the house going by the rapturous applause and wild enthusiasm during audience participation and chocolate give-aways! There was even a long line of autograph seekers when Oops! interviewed the man himself. As Dilpa, an 11 year-old student at the

Master Alex with his death-defying tricks

Global Indian School revealed, “I want his autograph. I love his magic!” Well, if fervent admiration and affirmation from the more than the 300 young fans do not ‘levitate’ the Master Magician to a ‘pop-star’ idol status, maybe the use of hit songs such as Black Eyes Peas’ ‘Don’t funk with my heart’ set to 80’s dance moves ensure that his act remains relevant in this ‘Back to the 80’s’ homage that is invading our shores, the other being the first day of the SINGfest music festival at Fort Canning Park. 

The audience lapping it all up!

But the final say had to be from the audience themselves: Sandip, a 12 year old student said that Master Magician was, “Very good. (He was) amazing. My favourite was the one where there was a talking head.” Priya, a 12 year old student said, “He keeps making me laugh. I think everyone likes his performance!” 

Master Magician Dr Alex – what an incredible performance!

The following is an excerpt from an interview with Master Magician Alex himself:

Question: Did you have any inspiration that led you to practice Magic?
Answer: I believe magic is an important skill. It is loved by people of all ages and has the power to make everybody happy, as it is an internationally understood language. So everyone can just sit back and enjoy themselves.

Question: Does being an actor from India give you an edge in Magic?
Answer: Yes, definitely. As an actor of course you learn what the audience loves. Magic and acting however draws a different crowd each.

Question: Do you have any advice for the people who would like to enter the whole magic scene?
Answer: Magic is an art that depends a lot on practice. There is no better advice I can give than non-stop practice. As long as you’re interested in it, it is an art that you should never get discouraged from.