PARLOUR TRICKS
[ AUDIO DRAMA // writer, director, exec producer ]
Arthur Moorehouse, a jaded charlatan posing as a medium, unwittingly summons the ghost of Landon Beckett, a recently deceased prostitute who died under mysterious circumstances. After Landon helps him solve a high-profile murder, Arthur is recruited by Inspector Stephen Redburn of Scotland Yard to help investigate the case of Jack the Ripper, and the three are thrust into a harrowing web of romance, treachery, and murder.
By definition, a parlour trick is “a simple trick or demonstration that is used especially to entertain and distract an audience.” In essence, they are efforts used to divert viewers from the truth. Queer people perform parlour tricks on a daily basis; we are programmed to do so in order to protect ourselves. We conjure smoke and mirrors to deflect from our insecurities, using every proverbial magic trick in the book to maintain a sense of self-preservation in a hostile world. Some of us are able to break these habits, but for many, we are stuck in a cycle of dishonesty, never truly living our most authentic lives.
But what happens when we take a risk, pull back the curtain, and reveal our true selves? While wrapped up in a darkly comedic, melodramatic thriller, this series, at its core, is an exploration of just that. Our characters all begin in a state of dishonesty – to themselves and their community – and eventually are all presented with opportunities to step into the light (and, in turn, stop a series of heinous murders). But will they take that step, or forever be relegated to a life in hiding… a life lived behind parlour tricks?