Bullet Catch – Sydney Festival

Overview

Every show wants to go out with a bang. But the Sydney Festival's Bullet Catch is guaranteed to each night — when a member of the audience fires a gun at performer Rob Drummond.

A mix of theatre and magic show, Bullet Catch casts Drummond (who also wrote and co-directed) as William Wonder, a magician reflecting on the notorious trick that involves catching a bullet between the teeth and that (surprise surprise) is said to have killed several who've attempted it. In particular, he looks back on the case of one William Henderson, whose death in front of 2,000 people in 1912 was rumoured to have been a suicide.

And that's where Bullet Catch evolves into something bigger, as its series of warm-up illusions meanders into a philosophy lecture on free will, scientific endeavour and existentialism. Apparently Drummond is a hugely engaging performer, who spurred Stephen Fry into tweeting, "Wow! Bullet Catch, what an experience at The Shed. Rob Drummond is utterly spell-binding. Shoot someone in the face for a ticket."

Want more Sydney Festival events? Check out our top ten picks of the festival. Image by Niall Walker.