Following a run at the Menier Chocolate Factory, pickpocket extraordinaire James Freedman has transferred his show Man Of Steal to the West End.
James describes himself as an honest pickpocket, educating people to avoid them becoming victims. Directed and co-written by Edward Hilsum, Man Of Steal runs at Trafalgar Studios for a limited run until 4th July 2015.
Man Of Steal sees James exposing how the bad guys really work. James reflects a lifetime spent studying hustlers, street criminals and con-men. Fuelled at an early age after falling victim to muggers and further inspired by watching child pickpockets on the streets of Paris, he began a lifelong study of stealth crime and the psychology of thieves.
James is the only man to have picked the pockets of The Mayor of London, The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Governor of the Bank of England. With his hands having been insured for £1m, his expertise is courted by the entertainment industry with his consulting on the film of Les Misérables, and Roman Polanski’s Oliver Twist, the BBC’s Hustle and as The Real Hustle’s ‘pickpocket expert’.
He also works alongside the Police Forces and other security professionals as an advisor, speaker and educator on the subjects of crime prevention, social engineering and fraud – particularly the growing areas of bank card fraud and identity theft. He has recently appeared in a regular slot on the Channel 5’s series Police 5, demonstrating the latest scams and how to avoid them.
I recently spoke to James about why he's one of the good guys, what happened when someone tried to buy a ticket to the show using a stolen debit card and being kept on his toes each night by different audiences…
You must be thrilled to have brought Man Of Steal to the West End following your sell out run at the Menier?
I’m massively excited! It’s great to be sharing it with a wider audience. It was originally written entirely as an entertainment, but part of my natural character is to want to share safety tips and advice with people. It’s always really nice when people say they enjoyed the show, and they’re also saying “I will never carry my car keys in that way again, I’m not going to put my credit card in my wallet that way and I’ve changed my pin number” – it’s just fantastic that it’s making people safe too. Because of that the police are interested in using the show to get the message out there as well which is really good.
