At 40, this gifted Quebec illusionist who studied biophotonics up to the doctorate is distinguished by his scientific hat. Symbol of the revival of modern magic, he returns to France at the start of the school year with a new show based no longer on micromagic with everyday objects but on teleportation, disappearance and levitation.
LE FIGARO – We are used to seeing you handle cards and handle rubber bands with impressive dexterity. For this third show, are you reinventing yourself as David Copperfield with high-profile tricks?
Luc LANGEVIN: During the Covid, I did 150 virtual shows on the internet in front of 50,000 spectators. It was micromagic with cards, balls going from one cup to another. When the pandemic ended, I needed to reinvent myself. I also think that the public now wants grand illusions, more spectacular tricks. This time, the show will take place with teleportation, vanishing and levitating towers outside the room, in the hall and beyond the walls of the theater. In Paris, I will perform at the Casino de Paris, 1800 seats. On tour then, I booked theaters between 600 and 1000 seats.
Grand illusion towers cost up to a million dollars to design and are expensive to transport. How did you solve this puzzle without increasing the ticket price?
This show took two years to prepare. One year to imagine it and write the text. Another year to build the prototypes and sequences and finally two months in a rented theater to validate everything. Once again I worked with my compatriot Stéphane Bourgoin, engineer-magician, designer of acts for the greatest magicians in the world. He is a genius of illusion. Instead of using large boxes, we managed to innovate with fabrics, new lighting and video projections. To cross the Atlantic between Montreal and Paris and then leave on the roads of France, this considerably reduces the costs.
To pull off your tricks, take advantage of audience blind spots, and manipulate brain loopholes, staging is just as strategic as engineering. How did you do this time?
We had to create a surprising narrative context. At the end of each number, the public will be very surprised. To help me, I called on Hugo Bélanger. We met in Hangzhou, China in the summer of 2019 where I was the magic consultant on Cirque du Soleil’s new permanent show, X: The land of Fantasy, and he was the director. In this theater specially built for the show where the bleachers move, he imagined a show that combines circus, dance, video and magic. We are of the same generation and he has a strong interest in magic. For me, who is a fan of science and mathematics, he was inspired by the visual universe of the Dutch artist Eisher (1898-1972). The latter imagined many engravings inspired by mathematics, including the Moëbius strip, the Necker cube, the Penrose triangle… Passionate about optical art, he drew impossible constructions, explored infinity and combined patterns that gradually change into totally different forms. As the show is called Vérité, a concept that depends on the point of view that one adopts, to be inspired by the universe of Eisher is perfect.
Like your compatriot Celine Dion, do you want a career in the United States? To perform in Vegas like David Copperfield?
I am actually thinking of translating this show into English. I am in talks with producers. I had taken advantage of the pandemic to play my virtual show in English and it went well. However, it is not easy. During my shows, I talk a lot. Magic is universal.
Did Celine Dion’s global triumph help you?
Yes, in terms of ambition. At the very beginning of her career, she said she wanted to become the greatest singer in the world. And she succeeded brilliantly. I want to be the best magician in the world. It may seem naive to say but thanks to Celine Dion, I am taken seriously. In Quebec, no one laughs anymore if an artist makes such comments. I’ve worked with several of his collaborators but I’ve never done a magic trick on him yet.
