The Great Canadian Theater Company is staging a play about Dai Vernon entitled "the Shadow Cutter."
Step into the seductive world of magic, where secrets are currency and illusion rules supreme. In The Shadow Cutter, two actors take us on a dramatic journey through the remarkable life of Dai Vernon, the Ottawa-born magician who earned his international reputation as the only man ever to fool Houdini. Pierre Brault’s newest play conjures up Dai’s lifelong, obsessive quest for the ultimate card trick, and the unexpected cost of mastering it.
In an article at CBC, writer Pierre Brault descibes his approach to the story:
"I was more interested in the idea of secrets and what secrets were to them,” said Brault. “It’s almost a form of currency. They hold onto secrets. They trade secrets. And this is a world that really fascinated me."