French illusionist explores the magical spirit of the City of Light

Fabrice Ferra is one of just a few French illusionists who have turned international interest in TV shows like The Mentalist and Lie To Me into a successful long-term career.

Many French and international companies book Mr Ferra for the illusions he creates based on famous fictional tricksters such as Gatsby the Magnificent and Arsène Lupin.

He also took on the challenge of performing a show entirely in English, requiring him to adopt a new approach to his job, as he explained.

“When I was a child, I was hooked on Mandrake The Magician, who fought the forces of evil with his unlimited hypnotic and telepathic superpowers,” he said when asked what sparked his interest in illusionism. But Mr Ferra chose an unexpected angle for his last show, one which revealed the underbelly of the City of Light.

The Connexion spoke to Mr Ferra about how Paris has succeeded in hiding its occult secrets, yet keeps the door of its underworld passages open to those who are in the know.

“In Descartes’ country, intuition and things categorised as ‘out of the ordinary’ sometimes take a little longer to take root in our highly rational brains. I’m proud to be an heir of the Enlightenment, but these two worlds really do co-exist,” he said.

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What is the ‘magical spirit of Paris’?

The City of Light dazzles, but Paris is also mysterious, magical, esoteric, occult, and mystical. We forget that Paris isn’t just the City of Light. Behind the facade is darkness. Paris is a magical city. There are great personalities from the occult and magical world. Table turning, Victor Hugo’s spiritualism, alchemy, Nicolas Flamel’s philosopher’s stone, and so on.

The magical spirit of Paris is all about suspense, the feeling that every street corner can reveal a secret, that you can touch on that secret or keep it hidden, that every step you take is a discovery or an extraordinary story waiting to be told.

Let me tell you something. Everything suggests that behind the Mona Lisa is Lisa Gherardini. 

Well, maybe not...

It is also the city of the Cabaret du chat noir, at the heart of an esoteric legend where many figures from the literary and artistic world meet up to discuss hidden signs, symbols and freemasonry.

My opinion is that Paris is an Egyptian city. I think that’s obvious and I find it amazing that it’s not given much attention. I mean, the Napoleonic conquests, Luxor, the Concorde, the Eiffel Tower, which is basically a pyramid, is a metaphor for a lighthouse illuminating Paris.

Nothing is created by chance. When architect Viollet-le-Duc restored Notre-Dame and put a statue of an alchemist on it, it wasn’t by chance. He didn’t put a dog or a cat there. Basically, the alchemist is the one who guards the secrets of Notre-Dame.

Start at Notre-Dame and you’re at ground zero. Go to Père Lachaise, there are esoteric symbols everywhere, the golden ratio is present in a huge number of buildings, including its snail shape.

Add to that the Catacombs and the secret passages, the Phantom of the Opera, Victor Hugo...

Does France have a complicated relationship with illusionism? It is the Enlightenment nation, based on science, where things should always be explained rationally.

Yes, totally. Descartes is all about ‘I think, therefore I am’, but he’s also all about ‘I don’t trust anything I can’t demonstrate.’ In other words, everything that’s invisible, whereas many essential things are invisible, like the blood that flows through our veins, the air we breathe, and ultraviolet rays. What is essential is invisible to the eye, as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said.

In the land of Descartes, intuition and things that are out of the ordinary sometimes take a little longer to find their way, even if there is a great tradition of the mind. I’m proud to be an heir of the Enlightenment, but there are two worlds: the rational world of Descartes and the occult world.

In Paris, this occult world has always been skillfully hidden, because it is reserved for the initiated. Look up in Paris and you’ll see: the walls speak. 

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The English language is more compact and conveys ideas and notions faster than French. How did you approach writing a show in English?

English influenced my vision of the show. The words are different and there are more constraints. 

The beauty of the English language lies in its diversity, which I try to master day by day.

Does it change your practice of illusionism to perform in English?

Our mental structure is universal. Instilling thought in a Japanese, Russian or Hungarian person is all the same. Only the cultural and regional references change. But the essence of illusionism goes way beyond language and culture.

The change of language to English brings a new dynamic and influences my approach to mentalism at every level. My sensations, my perception of things, the images or words that come to me, how I reveal information or provoke situations are all directly impacted. I think back to the moments when I have discovered the telephone number or the dream of a spectator. There is always a reaction of incredulity, surprise and exclamation.

Americans are often more expressive and demonstrative. The British are more reserved. And sometimes a revelation is met only with stunned silence.

In a previous show I used a lie detector and it’s true that you can see nuances of expression depending on people’s personalities. There’s a whole range of different expressions in the same sentence. And don’t try to lie to me, I’ve had 100% success for 15 years. You can’t lie to me.

Who is the best liar between an Australian, an American, a Brit and a French person?

Ha ha! I couldn’t say because everyone has their own strategy. It’s very difficult to distinguish categories of liar simply on the basis of nationality. Nice try!

Your English is less fluent than your French. Does it make your job harder?

Yes, of course, but it’s also an opportunity to reach more people, to introduce my discipline and my unique shows to more people around the world. Imperfection becomes another form of authenticity, it’s a strange sensation, a dose of excitement.

But I’m not here to explain things, I’m not a teacher. I prefer to leave people in a bubble, to fill them with wonder, to play with their perceptions.

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