They call him “One Crazy China” with his daredevil moves, but world-renowned escape artist Li Lau says he was never an adrenaline junkie growing up and instead went on to pursue a degree in criminology.
After working for a number of years for a nonprofit called the DNA Project, which specialised in crime scene awareness and DNA evidence, he did a 360-degree loop to become a full-time professional magician in 2018.
Lau spent most of his formative years in Gqeberha and matriculated from Alexander Road High School in 1999.
Therefore, he said, he was excited to perform on home soil next weekend with his Valentine’s Day Magic Show.
Staged at Nineteen 33 speakeasy bar in Fairview, an all-ages performance at 11am on February 15 offers a magical outing for families.
For those over 18, the 7.30pm performance offers a more sophisticated experience.
Lau said he had always had an interest in magic, especially escapes, since he was a child.
“I grew up watching TV shows like MacGyver and A-Team and was always fascinated at how the characters placed in various restraints and deadly traps not only used their minds and creativity to free themselves, but also everyday objects to build the tools to escape.
“I also loved watching magic on TV and still remember watching David Copperfield and Penn & Teller specials in the ’90s — which I feel helped influence my performance style later on.
“But I never dreamed of becoming a professional magician and kept my magical interests purely as a hobby.
“After I was granted the opportunity to perform my first public show in 2012, the performance bug bit and I began performing more and more in my free time.
“Then, when the DNA Project closed its doors after achieving all its goals, I decided to make the move to become a full-time professional magician in 2018.”
He said the first escape he managed to pull off was in primary school, when he was about 10 years old.
“I performed a homemade version of a straitjacket escape during class using a jersey and some rope.
“I can’t remember if I was terrified, but I was definitely nervous. But I pulled it off!”
The first time he performed an actual full escape act onstage was in 2012 at an Animal Welfare Society meeting.
“Emotions and fear can lead to mistakes, resulting in injuries. Therefore, through training, I try keep as calm and focused as possible.
“This helps keep me focused when developing any dangerous escapes and performing them live on stage.”
He said he was mostly self-taught, and learnt a lot of his techniques and skills through trial and error, and with the help of various books and tutorials.
“I have also been very fortunate to have met escape artists and sideshow performers who were willing to share their knowledge and skills for particular escapes and sideshow stunts that are considered extremely dangerous.”
Asked what set him apart from the rest, Lau said: “Bizarre magic, escapology and sideshow is very niche and there are not many magicians in the world who focus on them as an art form; and in SA there are even fewer.
“So the distinctiveness of what I do is unique and definitely not something the public at large would ever have had the opportunity to witness live.”
On his long-term partnership with Gqeberha mentalist and magician Brendon Peel, Lau said they met in 2014 when he was searching for other magicians in the area.
“I found Brendon and we got chatting about how few magicians there were in the Eastern Cape.
“Chatting led to idea exchanges, and then on to the idea of working together on a unique magic show that combines our different skills.
“But it wasn’t until 2018 that we performed our first duo magic show, Carnival Sideshow and other Magical Things.
“We both do such different forms of magic and have different styles that we felt it was a combination that has never really been seen before, especially combining escapology with mentalism — and each being done by a different performer rather a single performer doing both.”
And with magic comes a lot of laughter.
“I’m not sure if this strictly counts as a funny moment, but it was definitely quirky and weird.
“At the end of our duo magic show last year at a festival, Brendon and I told the audience they were welcome to take home some of the torn playing cards we discarded on the floor.
“But for some reason this was interpreted as an open invitation to take anything off the stage and we later found almost all of our printed number plates we used for a magic trick were taken off the stage.”
Lau’s greatest achievement, meanwhile, is easy to pinpoint.
“Fooling Penn and Teller on Fool Us with the ‘Coin Bullet Catch’’ stunt was definitely my highlight,” he said of the magic competition TV series in which magicians perform tricks in front of the American magician-comedian duo.
Lau and Peel had managed to bamboozle some of the best in the game when they beat the world-famous Penn and Teller at their own game.
They were the first African duo to achieve the monumental feat, as the magician success rate on the show is said to only be around 10 to 15%.
He has also appeared on Britain’s Got Talent and Got Talent All-Stars, where his unforgettable performances earned praise from the judges.
Lau and Peel will be returning to Las Vegas to perform as the opening act for Penn and Teller’s live stage show later this year.
They will also be touring SA with their latest duo show Viva! A Vegas Magic Show, which will be shown at Centrestage@Baywest on March 14 at 7.30pm, with a matinee show the next day at 3pm.
Lau said he would also be returning to the National Arts Festival in Makhanda for his eighth consecutive year with his newest solo show, Psych.
“I think the Gqeberha audience loves what I do, and while some might not know what exactly to expect at first, they definitely get drawn into the pieces I perform to the point that they don’t really know when or how to react.”
Tickets for the Valentine’s Day Magic Show cost R120 for adults and R80 for children via www.nineteen33.co.za/event/a-valentines-day-magic-show.
