Can you make a career as a magician? Street entertainer Owen Lean has more than one trick up his sleeve, he tells Jennifer May
For most of us the word "magic" conjures up images of rabbits appearing out of top hats, circus performers sawing through the bodies of spangled assistants or Paul Daniels (with side-kick Debbie) doing card tricks on prime-time TV.
But as the "dark arts" go through a renaissance, a whole new generation of magicians has emerged.
People such as Derren Browne or Ireland's Keith Barry who use mind-control techniques and David (where is he now?) Blaine, with his "hit-and-run" street performance, have been major influences in this re-generation of one of the oldest performing arts.
Owen Lean (22) is one of the up-and-coming faces on the magic circuit in Ireland. Since his purchase of a set of trick cards and discovery of a magic shop on a dusty back street off Charing Cross Road in London, he has developed a deep fascination for magic, and a desire to promote it to a higher level.
"Magic has the ability to move an audience," explains Lean, who is taking a degree in theatre studies at Trinity College Dublin. "Performers like David Blaine took it to a different stage, shifting the emphasis from the trick to the reaction of the spectator. I want to take it a step further - I believe magic can have a profound effect on people, and can open them to the possibility that there is more to life than they see around them."
From his first experiences levitating Australian dollars on the streets of Melbourne, to performing in Barcelona, Switzerland and at the prestigious Singapore River Busking Festival, Lean has honed his skill as a street performer. He works hard, spending many hours perfecting and adapting his performance - putting a new slant on old tricks. Since moving to Dublin from Surrey three years ago, he has found himself welcomed into the inner circles of the magic community in Ireland, and regularly spends time "sessioning" (swapping secrets) with other magicians.
For street performances, Lean uses few props - a table, pack of cards and a top hat (no, there are no rabbits lurking in this head-gear), but with his natural charisma he is able to attract a sizeable crowd in less than 30 seconds on a cold February afternoon on Grafton Street.
Taking on a raucous comedic persona that is far removed from the erudite young man he is when not performing (studying writing novels, making films), Lean keeps the crowd mesmerised with his sleight-of-hand card tricks while sustaining a hilarious banter, delicately spiced with up-to-date political irony.
The act lasts about seven minutes, during which time he manages to do about 50 astounding things to Dane's chosen card. (Dane is the volunteer chosen from the audience, who equips himself well, responding to Lean's quick-fire jibes with an aplomb verging on the professional.) Lean gives a sharp, upbeat and intelligent performance, entertaining even those without the remotest interest in magic.
What motivates someone such as Lean, who has a background in traditional theatre, into the hit-and-miss lifestyle of a magician? "There is a moment for a magician," says Lean, "a moment of astonishment when something truly extraordinary happens in the minds of the spectators, and they are brought back to an almost primitive state of mind - this is the moment of power, the buzz, the feeling that you have in some way affected the lives of your audience the way all art should."
Lean has high hopes for the future of magic. He wants to see more women on the circuit because, he says, feminism has failed to touch magic, and any female performers have attached themselves to a stereotypical view of femininity. He also wants to see magic enter a more artistic realm; one can't help wondering what the old master showmen such as Harry Houdini and Hermann The Great would make of this new breed of philosophical young sorcerers.
Lean is competing for the Blackpool Magic Convention's "Champion Street Entertainer" award later this month, and is definitely one to watch out for over the next couple of years. Will he change the world? With magic, anything is possible.
