FESTIVALS SPECIAL EVENTS

True to its title, Grand Illusion is the logical, and incredible, evolution of this conjurers art. Copperfield's goal in Grand Illusion is to take your dreams (and maybe a few nightmares) and make them come true using his state of the art wizardry. 'For magic to be relevant,' explains Copperfield, 'it has to evolve so it keeps up with, or even surpasses, the best film and theater. I want to base my work on what people really dream about. Most of us don't dream of pulling a rabbit out of a hat. But what affects people is realizing personal dreams, dreams almost everyone shares, that they thought were impossible. In the cinema the audience watches the characters dreams come true. In Grand Illusion, the audiences get to watch their dreams come true, live, before their very eyes and in three dimensions. Its an interactive experience of wish fulfillment. Nothing like it has been done before. Grand Illusion deals with real people who dream of being reunited with a loved one they thought they'd never see again. And making it happen instantly, in front of three or four thousand people who witness the event and see that it's real.' 'Grand Illusion was partly inspired by an unfulfilled wish of my grandfathers that a lot of people share winning the lottery, and finally owning that one special thing you always dreamed of. We call it An Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion partly because its interactive. In one of the pieces, for example, the audience discovers how to predict lottery numbers that will come up that night. They get to participate in illusions that blur the line between magic and reality.'