Laura London @ Voodoo Rooms, PBH Free Fringe
Laura London brings deception, magic and history into the perfect setting of the Voodoo Rooms for her cabaret and variety show Cheat
Chronicling the history of card-cheating with its close cousin magic, Laura London's show takes place surrounded by a Tiffany glass lamp and art deco photo frames. Cheat is made all the more convincing by this intimate, speakeasy-style setting of the Voodoo Rooms, which evokes a sense of the prohibition era.
She takes us on a nostalgic journey into the past through chapters of her card-cheating great aunt Geraldine's notebook and showcases examples of some of the more famous cheat games, such as the crimped card, the shell game and the Drunken Mitt game. A skilled magician, London performs all this and more with finesse. The show is also a little unnerving, as it leaves us not only impressed by card tricks but also a lot more interested in the underworld of deception.
Cheat is enjoyable and thought-provoking; an intriguing historical account of the deftly skilled women who played the game.
Laura London: Cheat, Voodoo Rooms, 6-28 Aug, 2.35 pm, PBH Free Fringe