Why Are We Drawn to Stories of Confidence Men?
If you search for magic shows, true crime, exciting theatre or even just what’s on near me, you’ll find one thing keeps cropping up: stories about con artists.
At Snap the Arrow, we are drawn to stories of confidence men. But we don’t think it’s just us. From Hustle to films like Ocean's Eleven, Widows, American Animals, The Sting and Molly's Game, audiences can’t get enough of tricksters, grifters and master planners. Even the Now You See Me franchise blurs the line between magician and criminal.
The Magic of the Con: Magic Shows and True Crime Stories
One of our artists, Chris Cook, is one of the most innovative stage magicians and a hidden gem of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, bringing true crime, art fraud, and magic shows to life through thrilling storytelling.
For him, the allure of these stories goes hand in hand with magic.
Magicians and con artists use the same toolkit: misdirection, psychology, sleight of hand, confidence. One uses it for entertainment. One uses it for criminality. The methodology is remarkably similar.
Being tricked in the right context is thrilling. That moment when the rug is pulled from under you. The twist. The reveal. It’s why storytelling shows about heists and frauds feel electric in a theatre.
Stranger Than Fiction: The Real Conmen
In Chris’s show FAKE, he explores art fraud through the lens of a magician. At the heart of the show is Han van Meegeren, the master forger who painted fake Vermeers and fooled the art world.
For a time, van Meegeren was treated like a folk hero. A man who outwitted elites. A kind of modern Robin Hood.
The truth is darker. Van Meegeren was a Nazi sympathiser who made significant sums selling forged paintings during the Second World War while others were being persecuted and fleeing. It is a reminder that true crime is rarely as glamorous as we would like it to be.
The Glamour and the Darkness
Chris’s new show, HEIST: How to Steal a Masterpiece, dives into the glamorous world of art theft. There are irresistible archetypes: the mastermind, the conman, the inside agent. There is the perfect plan and the plan that goes wrong.
In heist stories, the mark often “deserves it”. A corrupt casino owner. A criminal kingpin. In the art world, stealing from a billionaire collector can feel less morally troubling than other thefts. It feels clever. Sophisticated. Smart.
But both shows ask the same question: however cool these conmen might seem, who pays the price?
When the Con Is Real
Our other artist, Rhys Williamson, knows that price first hand. In 2025, he was the victim of a roofing scam.
“It was strange,” Rhys says. “Chris and I were writing FAKE at the same time as I was being conned. We were glamorising this conman whilst I was living through it.”
He has turned that experience into a new theatre show, A Very Difficult Person, a darkly comic story about trust, justice and what happens when the villain knocks on your door.
The scam did not completely taint his love of con stories.
“There is still something compelling about them,” he says. “In fiction, there is glamour. In real life, there rarely is. Most conmen are not virtuous. But why let the truth get in the way of a good story?”
Looking for Storytelling Shows Near You?
For anyone searching for magic shows, true crime, stranger than fiction storytelling, or exciting theatre near you, Snap the Arrow brings these stories to life on stage.
Then our work might be for you.
A Very Difficult Person plays Camden People’s Theatre on 26 March. Book your tickets.
FAKE is touring and will be returning to Edinburgh Festival Fringe. See tour dates.
HEIST: How to Steal a Masterpiece will be at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026.
Because whether we like it or not, we are fascinated by the con.
