François Normag in Fan: “What interests me in magic is the game, not the tricks”

You began practicing magic in 1982. Has your definition of this art evolved over the past 42 years?

Not much, not even my way of doing things, because I had the opportunity to see great masters, like the one who launched my career, world champion, Lance Burton. It cannot be bypassed. I was left with the idea of ​​very powerful magic, with very strong shock, and I always return to these sources. The root of the word “deceiver” is ludus, game in Latin. What interests me in magic is the game, and the contribution of comedy, because I come from there, I started as an actor at the Rouen Conservatory. My first show, Magic Cartoon, was in 1984. Karen Fayard played in it, and we were in the conservatory together. In this show, the golden magic is crystallized in a talent show, magicians, actors, dancers, circus people, and everything that takes people into a story. We're going to go full spectacle, because the magic trick itself doesn't interest me at all. Putting that aside completely, things don't matter to me, in fact the word is terrible.

How does golden magic disable magic codes?

The innovation is not to tell a story with the show, but to involve actors who come from Japan, Sweden, Germany and Spain, which is exceptional, to use all these actions and shapes and bring them together to make the story. As soon as we propose something new, it's risky, and that's okay. Magic has difficulty establishing itself in the cultural landscape because it is covered in dust, or because it is merely a performance. While the circus has successfully made its transformation with the new circus, the magic still seems a bit like that. This is what we are trying to do. We have 1,000 people in front of us of all ages and from all backgrounds, and everyone should enjoy the show.

What is also dangerous is not closing the curtain between the numbers?

It's already been done, but in this type of recording, it's technically very complicated. I was very keen on this show, I didn't want to take a break, I wanted the show to progress like a play. We had to find tricks, because we usually close the curtain between the numbers for installation and uninstallation. By bringing in outside actors, it was a challenge for the artists.

Is magic a universal language? Or is it interpreted differently depending on cultures?

There is no universal language. Rather, we are in a state of transformation, in different ways. Take Tomonori Kurokawa, he has a very polished charm. I think there's only one Japanese who can do that, with that sense of detail, that precision. He came from Japan specifically for the festival. Axel Adler, a Swede, is from a bit of another planet. He thinks of things that no one has thought of before. Magicians, each in their own field, think and achieve things that no one has ever thought of before.

practical

Golden Magic: Shows on Saturday, October 12 at 5pm and 8:30pm, and Sunday, October 13 at 2pm. Prices: from 27 euros to 67 euros (from 4 years). Magic workshops for children from 7 to 10 years, Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 at 10:45 a.m. “La nuit d'Anaël” show for children from 3 to 7 years: performances Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 October at 11 a.m. The entire festival takes place at the Palais des Arts in Vannes. Information and reservations: www.vivelamagie.com The usual ticket networks or by phone: tel. 06 22 73 72 12/02 23 21 07 66.