One of the most intriguing additions to the Sydney Festival’s “About an Hour” series for 2014 is Bullet Catch. Part theatre, part magic show, part interactive experience, the production is Rob Drummond’s one man show as magician William Wonder, who tells the story of a magician who died 100 years ago performing the infamous “Bullet Catch” trick and the poor sap who shot the gun.
The show is a genius piece of work that captures the wild fantasy of illusion and turns it into something tangible and real. The “poor sap” is represented by an audience member, chosen through a clever ball game where Drummond – or Wonder – essentially gauges the receptiveness of an audience member to “mind reading” and the most important element of all: the ability to pull the trigger.
What makes this show so unique aren’t the illusions that encompass it – indeed, anyone who’s seen a magic show before, or watched a Penn & Teller special, has seen most of these tricks before. That doesn’t make them any more impressive, however, especially the “psychic” elements of the show, which are playing as much with the mind of the audience as with the mind of his guest player.
Get ready to catch! Photo by Jamie Williams.
What does make it unique however, is the way he weaves through the story to create a unique bond not only with the player on stage, but with everyone in the room, to the point that by the time the bullet catch trick is attempted, you’d be forgiven for leaving the room (as one did). You know it’s all fake, but the very nature of the story, a death 100 years ago, cleverly plays on your emotions in such a way that you’re convinced it could be real. And you like the guy! You don’t want to see anything go wrong, for either Drummond or his “poor sap”.
Every part of the show is meticulously planned out. From his nature of being somewhat shy and unsure about some of his “psychic predictions” – all of which he gets pretty much correct – to the pauses to let the audience gather their emotions. His ability to play on the impulses of everyone in the room, while telling this intriguing story is nothing short of masterful.
It’s hard to tell you any more without spoiling some of the fun, but all I will say is this: let yourself get caught up in it all. At the end of the day this is a story that is told in such a way that it relies on you suspending your disbelief for about an hour, and if you allow yourself this (and it’s hard not to), this will be an experience you won’t soon forget.
—
At the time of publication, two performances of Bullet Catch remain – tonight at 9.30pm and tomorrow (January 20th) at 7.30pm at Carraigeworks in Sydney. For more details visit: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2014/Theatre-and-Dance/Bullet-Catch/
