Bullet Catch

Bullet Catch is “not a magic show” protests Rob Drummond the show’s Director, Writer and Performer, “it’s a theatre show, featuring magic”. So why do I feel like I’d just watched – with moments of hand to mouth astonishment – a magic show? The audience are eager, the whole night has an Edinburgh Festival vibe to it, people are relaxed, the average age is a little lower, and more casual let’s say, than the National Theatre’s usual, in their new Lego block Shed venue.

The atmosphere is one of intimacy, Drummond’s manner is low key – he is a natural at talking to, and more importantly listening to, his audience. He is here to tell us a story of magic’s most lethal trick – the bullet catch – and one particular event in history where an average punter shot a magician point blank in the face, because he was asked to. Was this magic gone wrong or a deliberate attempt on the magician’s behalf to “go out with a bang”, asks Drummond.

The show explores the essence of human happiness, of belief systems and how we connect to one another. In this case, Drummond demonstrates an audience participation masterclass by inviting someone willing to the stage and becoming their friend. He protests himself that he hates it when audience members are made to feel embarrassed and he proceeds to inject an honesty and respectability in his handling of our super calm volunteer, Nick. In fact, Nick provided one of the most touching moments in the show when Drummond guessed correctly that he was thinking of “love” and “Andrew”; we later found out that Nick had come to the show with that same Andrew, you’ve got to love it when an entire crowd goes “aw”. Drummond spent the night getting to know Nick through magic tricks, admitting to us that magic to him was “easier than conversation”, an interesting point for a performer to make whilst he holds the attention of 200 people in his hand.

What was perhaps the hardest thing to come to grips with was the fact that he was so honest with dishonesty. At one point he asked us if we wanted to know the secret behind a trick, and some people chose to close their eyes, but the cynics in the room, the majority, stared as he slowly and carefully unravelled the whole set-up. It was like seeing someone strip, almost shamefully, as the whole audience remained quiet whilst his warning of “sometimes it’s not worth finding out the secret” rang in our ears. This was the moment when I realised what we all know too well, that magic is just a gimmick.  You can applaud all you like for Tinkerbell to come back to life when you’re little, but that wears thin when you’ve seen David Blaine sit in a box for far too long. And when the entire climax of your show is based on a trick – after the whole idea of magic has been debunked, well then that climax sort of loses its punch. Yes, I realise that I just said I was a little underwhelmed by one stranger shooting a performer live in the face in front of a crowd, but that is what I was.

A few too many lighting changes and a set that was a little bit half-hearted and Derren Brown-ish added to the sense that this is a touring show, not one that feels grounded in any sense. Ultimately what made the 90 minutes memorable was simply Drummond’s deft and likeable story-telling manner, and his honesty about himself, and us.

Bullet Catch is playing The Shed at the National Theatre until 1 June. For more information and tickets, see The Shed, National Theatre website.