By Kamanthi Wickramasinghe 

With a passion to captivate audiences with mind-blowing magic, Yasas Gunaratne, Founder of ‘Knight of Illusions’ – a Sri Lankan premium magic entertainment brand, is ready to reveal the world of Mentalism to crowds that are hungry for a different kind of entertainment in Dubai. ‘Yasas the Mentalist’, scheduled to be staged at The Junction, Dubai on September 5, 2025, is the first time a Sri Lankan mentalist will showcase his talents at a ticketed full show. Having performed for brands such as Virgin Mobile and Nas Daily, Gunaratne believes that foreign audiences love to be entertained rather than knowing how a particular kind of magic is done. At the upcoming show, Gunaratne is ready to present a combination of various techniques he has tried and tested over the years. 

Speaking to Daily Mirror Life, Gunaratne spoke about the work of a mentalist, about Knight of Illusions and the journey he had come thus far.

Q : What’s the difference between a magician and a mentalist?
Great question, and it is something I am asked most of the time. Magic is the creation of an illusion using skill, props, and misdirection. Mentalism employs various other techniques, such as Hypnosis, Neurolinguistic Programming, Influence, Body language reading, deduction, and occasionally a bit of Magic. Most of the top mentalists in the world have been magicians in their past, where they developed audience management and performance skills that are a plus for Mentalism. 

Q : Looking back at the first Knight of Illusions show to now, what do you have to say about the journey you have come so far?
A rollercoaster ride, like any business. 

I started as a self-studied Magician when I was 9, and in 2003, when I began studying Marketing and Branding, I got the idea of creating Knight of Illusions as a brand. I launched a website, created a logo, and managed to secure sponsors for a ticketed show. I wanted to make Magic a big name in Sri Lanka and expand internationally. 

When Knight of Illusions returned in 2016 with World Champion Magicians, I was working towards that same vision.  Until 2019, they managed to have a big show annually. However, following the unfortunate Easter attack, Covid-19, and then the economic Crisis, the big plans stalled, and I had to cancel and lose money on certain investments made in Knight of Illusions initiatives. 

So it definitely was a journey with failures and successes. But I firmly believe consistency and tenacity pay off. If you never try things, you will never know.  And frankly, there are many more years to go to achieve the dream.

Q : We’ve seen various kinds of magic, some use cards and other props etc. Tell us more about the work of a mentalist. 
I made the transition towards being a mentalist in 2013 for several reasons. Unlike Magic, which often requires props and special conditions, mentalism can be performed easily anywhere at any time. So I would say it would use the minimum level of props. The hard part is the difficulty of practising alone, as you need to always try things on real people. Magic you can practice in front of a mirror or record yourself. Additionally, it requires a lot of focus, planning, creativity, and effective use of words. Numerous audience management situations require deviation from the original direction and plan. Every show is different, and the outcomes vary because they are all based on the audience. It’s a challenge.

Q : What are the global trends that you see with regard to these kinds of performance art forms? 
Good and professional mentalists have a higher level of acceptance, but it is no different to any good Magician, Illusionist or performer. I see many magicians attempting mental magic that resembles mentalism but is not. I guess this is due to the higher audience appeal. 

Magic in general has experienced a decline due to a loss of interest resulting from exposure to various techniques. A lot of conventional magicians gave up and moved away from Magic, sadly. However, I believe that anyone with a creative mind can build something unique, and there must be a differentiation strategy in place. Then you have a market and audience to perform for. I always see something new in the magic world, and those Magicians and acts are highly accepted. Innovation is the key to success.

Q : Tell us about the challenges and opportunities you’ve had along this journey. 
Especially in Sri Lanka and among family and relatives, gaining acceptance as an entertainer was very challenging initially.

To build and create new things, you need investment, so unless you have a different income source, it is not easy to do it. I don’t want to even discuss how much time, effort and investment that has gone into gaining the experience and exposure I needed.

Sadly, we are in a region where we don’t get exposure to grow. Most international Magicians and Mentalists have had mentors and guidance. They get other support, like stagecraft. We hardly get the opportunity to witness world-class acts in Sri Lanka and work in such productions.

I worked hard to negate the same above-mentioned challenges. Travelling to witness the World Championship in Magic 2015 in Italy, Macau, for the opening of Franz Harary’s House of Magic, Las Vegas, and Singapore gave me exposure to the world champion and Las Vegas Celebrity Magicians. Through persistence, I managed to make friends with great individuals like Shawn Farquhar (who visited Sri Lanka and was supposed to perform again in 2020, and we cancelled), Franz Harary, who worked with Michael Jackson, and all the other international artists who trusted me and shared the stage with me and my team in Sri Lanka have been great opportunities and experiences.

Every time I had international magicians in Sri Lanka, I made sure the young magicians in Sri Lanka got an opportunity to meet them. We had sessions to discuss and share stories unheard behind the scenes.  

I must thank the press, like Wijeya Newspapers, that have always supported us in sharing our stories. And TV stations like ITN (Who let us host a 25-episode series), Hi TV, CharanaTV, Rupavahini, and Sirasa, who have also helped in keeping Magic being seen.  I believe they can still play a bigger role. Even radio stations like E-FM had given a lot of coverage. 

Q : Any plans of bringing this show down to Sri Lanka?
Well, I would love to, but the time commitment of organising something like that without my presence is the difficulty. I have a fantastic team, including Youth with Talent Season 1 finalist Arun Moli, who has always supported me behind the scenes. We had an idea to create a Sri Lankan-focused show in Sinhala and Tamil, and perhaps in the future, we will be able to restart it. I must mention Ruwanthi De Chickera, who has been helping me in directing my show despite her busy schedule. It is always essential to continually improve with input from diverse, experienced perspectives.