“The key to artistic expression is rooted in truth” might seem an odd adage to live by when ‘mystery’ is foundation of his career, but mentalist Max Maven sees no contradiction in terms there. Rather, he describes the saying as “overtly true” of his work, even though much of it involves secrets and deception.

From more than three decades spent travelling the world spellbinding audiences as diverse in age, culture and language as the stories he tells and mysterious routines he performs, the American has observed a great deal about human nature.

He notes, for example, that in today’s world, new technology is assimilated so readily that it becomes “bland and unimpressive”, and obsolescence soon follows, thus creating a constant craving for ‘more, bigger, better, faster’, and an expectation that everything must be demystified.

Mr. Maven, on the other hand, likes to remind people that Albert Einstein once said “the most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious”.

“If that is true, I do a beautiful show,” he says. “Part of what I am doing in my work is reminding people of what a beautiful, mysterious world we have around us. I think there is value in what I do. Obviously, part of my aim is to entertain — experience something that is new and different — but there is also a deeper purpose in my work, which is to, in a sense, reacquaint the audience with mystery, because we tend to forget that it is around us every day.”

Small wonder, then, that he has no truck with those who deliberately set out to debunk the magician’s art.

“I think it is rude. It does not respect the artistry of the performers, and devalues the performance. If you focus on the technique behind traditional magic I think you lose its reason for being exciting.”

Indeed, Mr. Maven believes that one of the problems of modern society is its “attitude of immediate gratification, which inludes the sense that we have to be able to find out everything”.

“News travels in real time on the internet, which it didn’t used to. As a result, there are some people who, when they encounter ‘mystery performance/art’ in whatever form, feel they need to know how it is done. Also, the nature of our society is such that, for many of us, mystery is almost threatening. We take it as a challenge, and have to find out the answer for everything, including revealing magic tricks.”

With mystery as his “primary medium”, Mr. Maven says putting the word at the top of his list separates him from actors and singers who would give it a much lower priority, or none at all. Otherwise, he “makes use of all the things they do, including rhythm, colour and space”.

Born Philip Goldstein in 1950, and raised in Boston, the mentalist now calls Hollywood home, although he says “sometimes it feels more like a postal drop” given his almost-constant travelling. There are few countries in Europe and the Far East that he has not visited. A fluent Japanese speaker, he was recently awarded the Tenyo Prize during the 70th anniversary celebrations of the Japan Professional Magicians Association — the first non-Japanese to be so honoured.

“I love being in new environments, and meeting new people and seeing new reactions,” he says of his hectic schedule. “The world has gotten smaller, and culturally behaviours are less differentiated, but they are still different.”

Given that Mr. Maven’s current show, originally formatted in 1988 but revised over the years and presented here, involves a great deal of rapid-flowing dialogue imbued with ad libs, witticisms, and an occasional drop of sarcasm, the question arises: How does it play so successfully in all of the countries in which English is not the first language?

“I have a very large repertoire, and when I am working in (most) foreign countries the audience is able to stay with me — which is important since mine not a passive show — because enough people speak enough English to follow what I am doing. Also, they are told in advance,” he answers. “In China, I work with an interpreter.”

Even so, the mentalist always learns a few key words in his audience’s native tongue, which he drops into the dialogue from time to time. He once emceed a show in Portugal where he greeted his vast audience in 27 languages “to give them a sense of inclusion”.

For a man who has appeared on countless television shows, in addition to hosting his own, in the US and elsewhere, not to mention all of the radio shows, books he has authored, and being a renowned consultant and authority on magic, Mr. Maven could be forgiven for becoming slightly weary of it all after 30 plus years, but no. He positively thrives on a career whose genesis began in early childhood with a profound interest in the weird and wonderful, and progressed, at age seven or eight, to an introduction to basic theatrical magic, from which he has never looked back.

It was only later, as he grew and developed as a person, that he became more interested in “the intellectual and psychological aspects of the concepts and reasons why things work, rather than traditional magic” — for which he still has a great affection, by the way, but “no longer saws ladies in half”.

As 350 primary school children found out during his visit, when he enthralled them with an hour-long, educational show at City Hall theatre, he is a gifted communicator — something which began in his college days when, as a student teacher, he became fascinated with the way children processed information at that age.

“Understanding that helps me to understand how adults process information, which is the essential ingredient in accomplishing what I do,” he says. Further experience came from Mr. Maven’s 26-part mathematics television series for seven to eleven-year-olds in Canada, ‘The MAX Dimension’.

Today, however, Mr. Maven says he has “stopped studying” and instead “tries to be a polymath.”

“I read a great deal because to me there is a meaning to life. It is exploring, learning, finding new ways to perceive, and then expressing those things.”

Few careers are without risk, of course, but given the nature of his show, one wonders just how high the risk factor is, and what happens if something goes wrong, as surely it must — at least occasionally.

“Oh, everything I do is a risk because all of the interactive material always involves members of the audience,” the man of mystery responds.. “Not everything I try works, but I have been doing this for a long time, so if I do make a mistake I can usually manoeuvre out of it. Risk is what keeps the show fresh.”

As for the future, the Bermuda Festival artist says that, “after 32 years in this business” he has no intention of stopping any time soon.

“Every show is different because it involves direct audience participation. That’s why I don’t get tired of doing it. With each presentation I feel like I am opening a door.” And keeping the experience of mystery alive.