Street magic as vaudeville performance by travelling magicians has existed for thousands of years now. This ‘hit-and-run’ style of magic was made famous in the US of the late ’90s by David Blaine when he performed his tricks on television. How is it more difficult than stage shows? “Magic,” says Sarcar, “ is about angles. On the stage, you can control how your audience sees you. On the street, it’s out of your hands. You are exposed. So you better be good at your job.”

Surprisingly, Blaine does not figure in the narrative of his education in magic. “I discovered street magic on my own. David Blaine had nothing to do with it,” he says almost gruffly, before qualifying the statement. “It’s quite possible, of course, that Blaine, being the extremely creative person he is, hit on it around the same time. I have always been a prankster and I love freaking out my friends with my tricks. Street magic seemed to me to be an extension of that. I just walked out to the street and spooked out strangers, but with no props, no support from your environment.”

Our David Blaine, however, has a lot of catching up to do. Most of his shows have as their backdrop the stale glitz of airconditioned malls. Blaine took his art to edgier environs where the street had as many surprises for the magician as he had aces up his sleeve besides reinventing himself as an endurance artist. 3rd Degree also needs to come up with better scripts and do away with the current tacky voiceover.

... contd.