Abracadabra with James Harrington!

In stunned disbelief, Mohammed Basheer, a 42-year-old cab driver, clutches at the Dh 100 note in his right hand. Only a moment ago it had been a fiver. At least he was convinced that it was. With trembling fingers and an audible gasp, he turns slowly to the towering 6ft. 7” young British passenger who has just handed him what he believed was a Dh 5 bill.

His incredulous looks are met with a cheerful grin as 30-year-old James Harrington wishes him well, steps out of the taxi and walks away.

“That stupefying look, the open-mouthed gape, the bewilderment and the amazement — the reactions and expressions in the face of magic can be priceless,” says Harrington, a close-up illusionist whose boundless energy and class acts is so fresh and delightful it leaves you wondering ‘how the heck did he do that!’

“When you make money appear out of nowhere, especially at moments when it is least expected; when people witness something that they believe is contradictory to the laws of nature as they understand them to be, the responses can be overwhelming and in instances like these, with cab drivers or delivery boys, I let them keep the money just for the pleasure of seeing their faces,” he adds.

What makes performing impromptu really special is the response it generates, says Harrington. “There is no clapping, no cheering, no pats on the back — only complete and total astonishment. The childlike naivety shines through and this for me is the most rewarding aspect of my career — to fill people with that same sense of awe I felt when I first watched magic as a child of four.”

Showcasing his repertoire of ingenious acts in Dubai for six years now, James Harrington is often the crowd puller at corporate events, private parties and special occasions. Conducting magic at close quarters is a hard discipline, maintains Harrington. “You work with everyday objects like a deck of cards, coins, money; and when you stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the audience, and are not relying on mirrors and smoke screens to hide your actions, you need to have great mastery of your craft which comes only with hundreds of hours of practice.”

Harrington’s passion for magic began on his fourth birthday when his parents hired a magician to perform at the party. The very first trick he saw got him hooked on illusion. “The magician asked me to hold two sponge rabbits and said when I opened my hands, there would be many more,” he reminisces. “And I vividly remember thinking: Wow! This MUST be real magic. I was absolutely blown away and magic has always had that effect on me.”

His obsession continued as with each successive birthday, the new range of tricks drew him deeper into the realms of fantasy and illusion. On his 7th birthday, however, young Harrington had a different game plan. He wanted to entertain his friends on his own and so, with the aid of a magic kit that his father bought for him, he spent days practicing.

On the big day, he dressed the part with a T-shirt around his neck like a magician’s cape, laid out the table with a black cloth and waited to enthrall his friends. “But it was a disaster from the word ‘go’,” he remembers. “Children being children, none of them showed any interest in watching me perform and I cried for days on end!”

Though his first attempt was a traumatic start, it was a start nonetheless, says Harrington. “It made me more determined as I realised performance was just as important as the trick itself. And I never once thought of giving up.”

Magic also helped him on a social level while a kid, he adds. “I was a tall, lanky kid with braces and it was my magic skills that stopped any bullying at that stage. People’s attitude change when they see magic; they tend to stop and admire it.”

By the time he was 9, James Harrington was quite adept at consistently fooling his parents and other adults, considering that he practiced six to eight hours each day. Soon he ventured into exploring the psychological side of performing, mind reading and thought control. “Magic is a very precise art although at the core of every trick is an experiment in cognitive illusion. Our carefully orchestrated set of movements and motions diverts attention and tricks the viewer into believing or perceiving what he/she sees as real.”

“Magic has taught me that what we perceive as reality isn’t always the case,” says Harrington. “Magic exposes the nature of human attention. The fact is we are gullible and our brains don’t seem to take in anywhere near the amount of information that we think we do. Our observations are so subjective and this is one of the things that fascinate me about performing - just knowing the things you can get away with without people noticing!”

Yet he admits that in a close-up situation, the risk of getting caught is always higher. “Especially in a world of skeptics; we are not easily amazed any more. Our attention spans are reducing and therefore when I perform, I have to be in the moment, as a slight deviation could completely change a trick.”

At age 16, Harrington honed his skills entertaining guests over the weekend at TGI Fridays in his hometown in the UK. Around this time he also met a master magician from the US, a guest at the local magic club. “He was not keen on teaching me but was impressed with a trick I performed. I struck a deal of teaching him that one trick in exchange for everything he knew.”

IT WAS WHILE doing his training at Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) a year later that an opportunity arose to perform at a wedding. Says James, “I remember that I had to borrow money from my dad to reach the venue but at the end of the two-hour show I was paid a handsome amount. Magic had always been a passion for me but it was when I held that money in my hands that I realised I could make a living out of that passion.”

What transpired next was an indepth foray into the world of magic as Harrington brushed up on all the skills to become a great performer. He had already learnt the sleight of hand and mastered the art of misdirection. His work at a night club chain in the UK at the age of 19 completed this transformation as he emerged as a star performer capable of creating wonder and astonishment amongst his audience.

Since then Harrington has performed for audiences ranging from rugby and football fans and players to billionaire oligarchs, celebrities and royalty. “My goal is to create meaning in what I do,” he says. “It is about keeping alive that sense of wonder; creating those moments of awe and astonishment that appeals to the child in each of us.”

Harrington throws in a mixture of psychology, mindreading, misdirection and showmanship in each of his performances and he proceeds to demonstrate it by asking me to sign a Dh 500 note which he folds into a small square and places it in his loosely clenched fist. I focus intently on the note but in less than five seconds, I discover that it has vanished. With a flourish, Harrington pulls out a trio of leather purses from his jacket and nestled in the smallest purse is a sealed envelope within which I find my signed bill!

Despite being 14 years in the profession, Harrington still devotes three to four hours each day on practice. “Complacency is one trait that is anathema to a magician,” he says. “Derren Brown, the British illusionist whom I admire the most, said to me three years ago: Never underestimate the audience, and that is one piece of advice I will carry through always.”

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