He spins on his scooter in the pouring rain. His leather shoulder bag encloses a deck of cards, three walnut shells, a green marble. His basic magician paraphernalia. By observing his amused blue eyes bluffing us in the hat, we can not imagine that Alexandre Denis also calls himself Father Alex and that he ensures the offices of the Saint-Merry church, neighbor of the Pompidou center in Paris (IVe) . Dawn does not inspire the scam. And yet ... Father Alex will show his talent on Friday at the Magic Wip (complete), the magic factory in La Villette, alongside three other magicians. At 47, it will be his first public scene.
Father Alex fell in magic before taking on the host. In CM1, in Châteauroux (Indre), his teacher Christian Paul (he never forgot his name) shows him a trick. Alexandre is amazed. Back home, he learns it, repeats it and plays it back, proudly, in front of his mentor.
The teacher, surprised to see the kid caught in the game, reveals other tricks to him. Alex catches the magic bug. He certainly goes to mass every Sunday, wears the uniform of the scouts, but devotes his leisure time to manipulation. His parents buy him books, ropes, goblets, foam balls ... "Manipulation, cheating, gentlemen thieves fascinate me," says the priest. He devours the Arsene Lupines and "The art of winning at all games" (1879), from the father of magic, Robert Houdin.
With the blank check of the Church
The adolescent becomes - and will remain - "monomaniac". And if he drops the white strings, it is to strum those of the gypsy guitar, around oxen in cafes. Alexandre then follows studies of applied arts, where he discovers with delight the manufacture of puppets, fake objects, special effects and other magic boxes.
When entering the seminary at 24 years of age, for seven years, the parish priest thinks that he will have to forget his cards forever to devote himself to Christ. The sacrifice weighs on him. He understands, after two years, that no one has ever forced him to give up. With the authorization of the bishop of Paris, he fully recovered. "I am a magician, it is part of my life, like other priests are cooks or musicians," smiles Alexandre.
When he is not sleeping in the presbytery, the monk trains or makes special effects. It was he who created the great magic mirror of the mentalist Viktor Vincent in "Les liens invisibles". One month of daily work, during the summer. “I drew it, produced it, skated it and mounted it alone. It is a very beautiful illusion, complicated to create ”, boasts Father Alex. He also joined the decor team of the play “Chapter XIII”, for which he designed the scene of beheading with an ax and a body piercing. Gore. The piece won the 2019 Molière for the best visual creation.
Father Alex is having fun with all these tricks. He also worked for the mentalist Léo Brière, made a rigged dartboard for "Around the world in 80 days", accessories for "The wolf who wanted to put on his show" and a large disappearing box for "Max and the Great magician ".
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To learn, again and again, the parish priest meets shoe sizes, sees many shows. At church, he allows himself a single gesture of magic. The appearance of lights at his fingertips, for Christmas mass.
"Magic Night, La Nuit des Arnaqueurs", Friday January 17 at 8 pm (full), at the Magic Wip (Paris XIX). Lavillette.com.