by Mel March
Alex McAleer is a mind reader. A mind reader from Norwich who has travelled the world over with his one-man show wowing audiences everywhere. As part of Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2025, Alex brings his amazing talents to the Adams Spiegletent for two special performances on 20 and 21 May.
On a sunny afternoon in early spring, I sat down with Alex to quiz him about his artistry and experiences as a performer.
Alex McAleer will be performing at NNF 2025
Mel: Alex, I’ve read that you became interested in psychics and hypnotists at around the age of 14. My understanding of these two subjects is that they are not related. In simplistic terms a psychic being someone with the ability to tap into another world and a hypnotist being someone who control minds and behaviours. However, as I say this I’m wondering if the correlation is ‘reading people’?
How do you bring these two worlds together to create what you do? Are you a psychic and a hypnotist or one of either, or neither? Do you take elements from both to hone your skills?
Alex: Yes, I think it’s both. Psychic ability and hypnotism are both based on people’s psychology, because when it comes to psychics, I’m a sceptic. Having studied them a lot, I haven’t really seen any that are really doing it. And my view of hypnosis is that’s not real either. With hypnosis people are not playing along in a certain sense, but with psychic’s people are playing along.
I use elements of hypnosis, but I don’t hypnotise anyone and I do elements of psychic reading but I’m not a psychic. And kind of at the top of the show I say this with a few gags. I explain I’m not a psychic; I’m not going to be talking to the dead or reading a palm, or being a therapist and charging £100 an hour!
I’ve always been interested in supernatural things and paranormal and I think a long time ago hypnosis was thought to be in this category. But these days it’s considered more acceptable as like a form of therapy. Cognitive things are genuine and real. It’s all about reframing things in your mind and using certain language patterns, these things make it happen a lot quicker than the sort of ‘slowly, slowly’ psychotherapy.
Your question is interesting, because being a psychic and being a hypnotist are two separate things but to me, they sit next to each other.
The kind of magic that I do is called mentalism, and mentalism is just all the kinds of magic that go under the umbrella of ‘to do with the mind’. So, to answer your question, I’m using kind of elements of both.
I was obsessed with performers from the vaudeville era in America – here we call it variety – so I call myself a mind reader because that is what I do. I tell people what they are thinking. I can supposedly discern what another person is thinking, to use the dictionary definition. I guess in the 20s, and 30s I would have been called a telepathist because telepathy is mind to mind communication because it’s about thoughts.
Mel: Do people who know what you do, act differently towards you?
Alex: People who have known me a long time realise I am not always Mr Mind Reader. I’m not always on. But meeting new people, they become very nervous for some reason. They become self-conscious of the fact they are nervous because it’s then like they’ve got something to hide. Some people are really interested in what I do, others are very sceptical, but they are all very curious!
I’ve toured the US a lot and, in a taxi, as soon as they hear your British accent they want to talk to you. And then they want to know why you are there and what you are doing. So, I say I’m in a touring show, that I’m a mind reader and then because they are American, they ask me to do something. However, British people ask themselves, “am I allowed to ask questions?”. So usually, I’m not so truthful and say I do something else!
Mel: What age did you say I am ready!?
Alex: Probably too early! It would have been 17 or 18 years old. I got a business account because I received a loan from the Prince’s Trust, so I was able to get a website and a suit so I could start doing corporate jobs and weddings and things. And that’s when I decided. But my dad described it at the time as I was self-unemployed!
Mel: What has been the hardest thing to perfect in your act?
Alex: Oh good question! I’m doing a lot in my head during the performance. I’m guessing and thinking internally things about the guests I have invited up on stage, so frowning and scratching my beard wouldn’t work while I do this. One of the hardest things is making the full length of the show entertaining. I have to be doing many things all at once.
Have you ever wondered how he does it?
Mel: In all of the shows you have performed across the globe, has there been one extraordinary, unpredictable person or outstanding moment where you have had your breath taken away just like your audience?
Alex: There was a time when I guessed correctly and it was sheer luck, and only I knew this. I just had no idea what this person was thinking. I was trying to guess their first kiss or their first love. I just couldn’t get it. But I had to say something even if I got it wrong. So, I felt ‘Stephen’ and they said no but then they said, “the last person I kissed was my husband and his name is Stephen!” That was amazing and got a good response. I got very lucky there.
Mel: Has anything happened along the lines of a psychic feeling?
Alex: Oh definitely – possibly the instance I just said, I think – how did I know that? There are two types of psychics: shut eyes and open eyes. The shut eyes are intuitive, and they don’t know anything about the tricks or the psychology of it. These people can sometimes start to think, maybe I am real, I can do this. Then there’s the open eyes- the fraudsters that you hear about who are using a PC and have someone Googling backstage.
Mel: Finally Alex, the question on everyone’s lips. How do you do it?
Alex: A mixture of things. That’s always the answer, though there isn’t really an answer!
To experience Alex’s entertaining performance with mind reading, book tickets for Norfolk & Norwich Festival’s Adnams Spieglent on Tuesday 20th May at 7pm and Wednesday 21st at 9.30pm. Tickets cost between £10 and £22. Book here. And while you’re there make sure to treat yourself to some pre-show or after-show drinks in the Festival Gardens!
