Interview by Rui Pastorin
English magician and mentalist Drummond Money-Coutts (aka DMC) is set to bring his tricks and illusions to Macau later this month, with shows scheduled to take place for his Macau debut at Grand Lisboa Palace (GLP) and Grand Lisboa from February 19 to 24.
Celebrated in his craft and having had performances of various sizes across continents, magic lovers might know Money-Coutts for shows including the Netflix 2018 series “Death By Magic”, which spanned eight episodes and explores magic acts that have led to performers’ deaths, or even National Geographic’s Beyond Magic with DMC, which aired in 2014 and saw him perform street magic in cities worldwide, including London, Paris, and Mexico City. Others might have also witnessed his magic on his YouTube channel “Magination”.
With Macau as one of the latest stops, DMC, who has had performances in more than 52 countries, promises shows that blend his favourite effects from over 30 years of practice and study: magic and mentalism, with each show in Macau containing surprises.
“It will be my first time performing in Macau, and I’m truly excited”, DMC said in response to questions in a recent email interview by the Post. He added: “It’s [Macau] a city with such a rich blend of history, culture, and modern energy – which feels like the perfect environment for magic. There’s something very special about performing in a place where East and West meet, and I’m looking forward to sharing my work with the audience”.
DMC, the heir apparent to the Latymer Barony, comes from the family that founded Coutts, a private bank serving some of Britain’s wealthiest, including the Royal Family. His decision to pursue magic was unconventional and was both unexpected and, he noted, was not without raised eyebrows.
“Coming from a centuries-long legacy of financiers, choosing a life in magic was unexpected. But I’ve always believed that honouring a legacy doesn’t mean copying it — it means carrying its values forward in your own way. When people saw that this wasn’t just a hobby, but a lifelong discipline, they quickly understood my ambitions”.
Describing how it all began, DMC said magic found him at a very young age, capturing his fascination from the moment he could read, with his interest only growing deeper and stronger with time. As he tells it:
“When I was a child, my father took me to a tiny, hidden magic shop in London, and that was the moment everything clicked. I didn’t think of it as a career then; it felt more like discovering a secret language. Over time, that fascination never left me – it simply grew deeper and more serious. In that sense, it wasn’t something I planned, but something that quietly chose me”.
Now, with over 31 years of magic and mentalism*, he has performed in different parts of the world to audiences of a variety of sizes and backgrounds. The success he has experienced, he said, is something he never could have envisioned, having been “the wildest and most unpredictable of journeys”.
The Post also asked about the most valuable lessons he has learnt throughout his career, to which he said that among the biggest were “commitment to gradual and consistent improvements, not giant leaps and bounds”. He added: “My focus was always on mastery, not outcomes. If you stay obsessed with the craft, and on always improving by 1 percent – the rest cannot fail to follow in time”.
With years put into the craft, DMC said that the reactions that people have are what keeps him passionate about his craft. “The passion for me is in seeing the look of awe, wonder and surprise in people’s eyes. In a world that often feels predictable, offering someone a moment of true mystery is a rare and beautiful thing”.
He also noted that what continues to inspire him stems from great thinkers, storytellers, and performers who have “used illusion not just to fool, but to provoke wonder”.
“What truly inspired me was the idea that magic could be intelligent, emotional, and meaningful – a way of connecting with people, inspiring and enchanting them, rather than simply fooling them”, he pointed out.
Regarding his achievements, DMC noted that his career has been more about individual moments than great milestones. Among these moments were performing for Queen Elizabeth II to small villages in Kenya or the Himalayas. “Seeing the eyes light up in children who are watching magic for the first time, or showing old Egyptian’s magic in the shade of the great pyramid at Giza. If there’s an achievement I’m most proud of, it’s helping to reframe magic as something intelligent, story-based and meaningful”.
Authenticity, meanwhile, is what he believes to be the key to delivering a successful show while leaving audiences in awe. “Audiences are incredibly perceptive – they can sense when something is genuine. Technique is important, of course, but it’s only the foundation. What truly leaves an audience in awe is when they feel something. Astonishment is one thing, but meaningful astonishment is the ultimate goal”, he said.
*Mentalism is a performing art and entertainment form that involves a performer (often called a mentalist) demonstrating highly developed mental or perceptual abilities. This can include mind reading, telepathy, clairvoyance, and psychological manipulation. – Poe
Photos recently provided by SJM Resorts.
