Brits Off Broadway is in town for their annual residency at 59th Street Theatres, which is a plus for a couple of reasons. The first is that the 59th street theatres are excellent venues for small intimate performances, and second, this festival always has at least one outstanding gem. A few years ago we saw a fantastic play about Hurricane Higgins, and last weekend we saw the hit of the recent Edinburgh Fringe Festival. ‘Bullet Catch’ was billed as a magic show ‘…a stunt so dangerous Houdini refused to attempt it, the bullet catch has claimed the lives of at least 12 people since it’s conception in 1613…’

It was a one man show, and Rob Drummond was so personable that you felt you were in his living room talking about the meaning of life. There was magic and mind reading, but most of the show was really about truth and illusion. Rob continually referenced the story of William Henderson, a magician who was shot dead on stage supposedly attempting to catch a bullet in his teeth. We had personal insights to the man through letters and conversation ( the conduit being a volunteer from the audience ), and when the final scene came, you could feel the volunteer’s dilemma as he considered the gun in his hand – it all looked like play acting, but was it really….?

While the volunteer took his time to read and sign the release that would free him of responsibility should the trick misfire, I reflected on the glass of pink champagne we enjoyed before the show. I could have been the one called on stage to be a volunteer, and with all the illusion going on, at least my last drink would have been real…