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Who is going to believe a magician? Everything they do and say is fake, after all. Well, audiences of Chris Cook’s Fake need not fear, we did some fact checking, and the story he weaves has truth to it. How much, only Cook could say. It’s up to you if you believe him, and it’s also up to you if it matters. At one point of Fake, Cook quotes Kipling’s “it’s pretty, but is it Art?”. While this line could inspire an enire Fringe worth of shows and never come to any conclusion about the parameters in which we can define art, here at World Magic Review we just go ahead and executively decide that magic shows are indeed art. And Cook’s Fake is not only pretty, not only art, but is in fact a triumph of magical storytelling.

The storyline of Fake is to follow the history of early 20th century art forger Han van Meegeren, who found success forging works of art masters, most notably Vermeer. Within this story, the audience of Fake not only learns a little something about art history, but experiences skillful magic along the way. The test of a solid narrative magic show is how each element would hold up if the other was eliminated. Without magic, Fake is a TED Talk about van Meegeren and the William Ellsworth Robinson, a magician who used falsehood not only in his act but as part of his entire public persona. Cook’s delivery just on these historical truths is strong enough that yes, it could stand as an entirely magicless show.

Then on the other side, without the history of these figures, Cook would be forced to be successful on the strength of his adeptability in creative magic effects and skillful sleight of hand, something attendees of his past shows will know he is more than capable of. During Fake, Cook incorporates a brief linking rings trick, then quickly segues it into something much more personal and compelling to the audience. Later, he successfully performs a memorable bullet catch (believe us, this is exactly what happens. Chris Cook catches a bullet live inside an Edinburgh venue. The participant can even show you the bullet!)

While both the storytelling and the magic of Fake are independantly strong enough to be successful even were they alone, the marriage of the two facets together are the true hallmark of a Cook performance. Cook not only shows off his almost annoying skill at sleight of hand, but he is first in class at making the audience care. And not only care for frivolous, ‘fake’ reasons that only stand up to scrutiny within the confines of his venue, but for actual reasons that we can connect to at personal and visceral levels, whether we were a participant in a trick or just a viewer.

Speaking of participation, this aspect is at a lower level than many magic show or even at Cook’s own historical leve. However, he maintains his ability to interact with his audience in a genuinely respectful way, only targeting people who are comfortable being involved, and only showing them encouragement and support as they step out of their comfort zones to join him.

Fake is not just a magic show but an exploration of magic as an artform. Along the way, attendees get to see some legitimately impressive magic tricks and learn a bit about the art world and Cook’s investigation of it – captivating, engrossing, and maybe just a little fake.