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Anyone who has been on social media in at least the past year will have witnessed irrefutable proof that society is ill equipped to handle conflict in a post truth world. There might be a moment of hope when a mutual shares content debunking obvious propaganda, only for that hope to immediately be dashed when they then immediately share equally egregious propaganda slanted in the opposite direction and claim it to be the unbiased truth. This is the foundation of Pete Heat’s Fringe show Bogus. Heat gets all that across in a manner that is very silly, very magical, and very effective.

As per usual in Heat’s Fringe offerings, magic does not make up a huge proportion of the show. Heat is a comedy magician who gives equal weight to both the comedy and the magic. The magic is remarkably slick, even if there are members of the audience who have seen Heat perform the same tricks before it’s by and large impossible to spot the moment that the deception is achieved. Those who take part in especially novel effects may find themselves quizzed by other members of the audience after the show, as they simply can’t believe that the participants are not stooges.

One of the more interestingly involved reveals is to a trick involving made up language, which leaves audiences flummoxed. Heat uses technology in Bogus in an inventive way, creating magical moments unique to this era. Random number tricks are often used as predictive effects, for the magician to show off their mentalist skills, and Heat’s version of this is both extra impressive and extra hilarious.

As methods to dispel the notion of objective reality go, magic may feel like a fairly obvious one. It’s the perfect option for discussing the effect of both deliberate propaganda and social media AI algorithms, as it uses similar principles. However, magic is explicitly for entertainment rather than for the lethal combination of infotainment and deliberate fracturing of the laboring classes often seen in non-magical misdirection. Heat’s other primary prong is, perhaps a little more unexpectedly, animal facts. This is equally effective in its own way, and far more cuddly.

Like any other magic show, Bogus is designed to leave the audience with more questions than answers, but explicitly draws the connection to the outside world. Outside of Bogus, we’re faced with nonconsensual, malicious, and dispassionate misdirection, and we don’t even know how tall the perpetrators are. Inside Bogus, we’re faced with benevolent misdirection from a very tall man—clearly the better option.  The irony of his infotainment approach to addressing contemporary media illiteracy suits Heat’s style.  And even audience members who aren’t in it for the big themes can enjoy the incredible magic and hilarious jokes. 

More information on Bogus and its performance dates can be found here.