Jason Khor: Five Reasons to Catch The Illusionists Live at MBS

Mind-bending.

You've caught magic movie Now You See Me, and you suspended your disbelief because anything is possible in the cinematic universe. But The Illusionists is a different ball game. Are you prepared to accept the impossible happening in front of your very eyes?

Wee Keong and I with the extremely talented bunch of magicians

I caught The Illusionists on their opening night at MasterCard Theatres at Marina Bay Sands. It was epic and here's why:

1. Not one, not two, not three, but EIGHT of them take the stage

Eight talents from all over the world specialising in different fields magic take the stage in one night., Their look, accents, and representation from across the globe made the show even more exotic, leveling up its mystique.

You've got The Clairvoyants, who can tell what objects (down to minute numbers that no one else would be able to see) being carried by the audience; The Manipulator, who does the most amazing card tricks; the Alchemist who transformed tissue into a moving bird hopping on his arm; the Eccentric from USA who did a mash-up of juggling, acrobatics and magic that drew some of the greatest applause from the audience. Especially considering his age, he delivered some of the most visibly physically-demanding segment of the night.

2. Death-defying, but not dark

Impaling a pretty lady on a vertical metal spike and sawing a healthcare professional in half sounds like the stuff of nightmares. (If that's your fantasy, then get away from me.) The Illusionists are not afraid to go there, but they've thrown in a couple of toe-tickling bits for good measure. The end product is something that's intense but hugely entertaining and fun to watch.

3. Hold your breath as The Escapologist breaks free while being submerged inverted in a water tank

#theillusionistssg #theillusionists #krendl #krendlmagic #watercell #watertorturecell

A photo posted by Krendl Magic (@krendl_magic) on May 7, 2016 at 6:58am PDT

Skeptics might think picking locks with a paper clip isn't a magic trick but try picking a whole lot of them while holding your breath for four minutes. That's damn near impossible, and as real as magic gets for me. (That's The Escapologist's IG btw! Check him out!)

4. Crack your head figuring out the trick behind the tricks

The Prestige starring Hugh Jackman

Any one who has caught The Prestige (one of my fav movies of all time) would look at illusions with vicious cynicism. Trapdoors, hidden compartments, killing animals, cloning - nothing is too much to deceive, and, get a reaction from the audience. But okay this is real life, so I'm guessing it's not that extreme. Most of the time though , they are so well-executed, happening at a fraction of a second, so even if you could guess what's going on, you'd never be able to do it, because they are so, so, so good.

You'd be amazed.

5. Everybody performs a magic trick for themselves

Don't want to give the game away, but The Master Magician conducts a magician masterclass. Some time during the show, he gets every one in the audience to follow his instructions, and perform one magic trick.

I was pretty amazed that this happened, right in my very own hands: