THERE was no plan B for Alex McAleer. It started with magic and metamorphosed into mentalism and mind-reading and he's never looked back.

Alex doesn't pretend to be a psychic - he doesn't read palms or talk to the dead; he reads people and talks to the living, combining contemporary mind reading with a sharp wit and a flair for showmanship.

He found his vocation at 15, when his mother passed away and "I was looking for something to do. I started looking into spiritualism - I wanted to find out if it was real. When I discovered it wasn't I wasn't annoyed or angry, just fascinated.

"About the same time I was reading a book about memory techniques and became more confident using them, and it grew from there. It's more satisfying than ordinary magic.

"I hoped I would make a career of it, and I'm enjoying the ride of actually doing that," says Alex, adding that he dropped out of art college to pursue a career in mind reading. "I went to the Princes Trust, who gave me a small business loan which bought me a website and a suit." The trust also gave Alex his first gig. "So my first cheque was from Coutts,"

Alex has two spots in the show - "My second half set is kind of an experiment with the audience," he reveals. "its a chance for people not on the stage to have their minds read by me. It's got a real twist ..."

It's tricky with mind-reading because there are only a limited number of things you can do, and you have to think of interesting ways to show of that skill," he says before demonstrating his skill with a card trick as stunning as it is baffling. I know I've been out-manoeuvred, but I haven't the faintest idea how!

"People want to see soemthing amazing, something inexplicable," he says. "I like getting it just right, and it's different every night."

Alex is one of five award-winning magicians - also on the line-up are Young and Strange, Fay Presto and Edward Hilsum - who'll be amazing the audience on Thursday, April 7. Witness stunning illusions including disappearances, teleportation and a hear stopping finale that sees one performer wall though the spinning steel blades of a giant industrial fan., all presented with lighting and pyrotechnics to rival the biggest arean productions.

Champions of Magic will be at The Courtyard on Thursday, April 7 at 7.30pm. To book, call the box office on 01432 340555 or visit courtyard.org.uk