Houdini at Central Studio is magic

TRUTH is stranger than fiction, as the saying goes, but truth and fiction are inextricably linked in the fascinating tale of Harry Houdini’s life.

For their latest production Basingstoke’s Proteus theatre company have tackled the renowned magician and escapologist who, terrified of being nobody, immortalised himself through a career filled with mystery and mind-boggling tricks.

Hence Lee Garrett, not content with the gargantuan task of shouldering a one-man play, has spent seven months learning magic to do the legend of Houdini justice.

And he does.

Card tricks, coin tricks, mind tricks, not to mention the straitjacket. Enough said.

Houdini’s is a success story strewn with hardships, skeletons in the closet and a personal fight against fraudulent mediums.

Proteus' play constructs Houdini’s story mostly through one-sided dialogue, soliloquys and by addressing the audience directly.

Houdini presents his own story like one of his magic shows, bookended with an incredible disappearing trick.

But the audience is warned several times: “don’t believe a word of it”, because no source is reliable in the world of illusion, not even Houdini.

“I am not who you think I am. I am not who I think I am”, he says repeatedly.

Garrett skilfully conjures up other characters on stage with him, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who became obsessed with mediums and saw in Houdini a link to the other side.

It is staggering to think that Garrett is first actor then magician. He has picked up the tricks of the trade, ad libbing with the audience as he performs his magic, with the help of some harmless audience participation and assistant Jodie Marsh.

There were understandably some opening night nerves, but Garrett has now proved he can pull off a one-man play and an impressive repertoire of magic tricks all in one show.

He can now relax into the role over the coming weeks.