I attended a performance, in the sweet space at Upstairs at the Three & Ten, The Trials of Harvey Matusow, written and performed by Robert Cohen. An intelligently constructed piece about a confidence trickster and scam-artist, who used his associations with the Communist party in 50s and 60s USA to inform on members and activities to the FBI for payment.

The story unfolds under scene titles such as A Shifting Landscape, Charm Offensive, a Dimedroppers’ Odyssey (it cost a dime to make the phone call to the FBI). Seldom have I seen a one–man-show of such intrigue and excitement, full of ironic wit and fun. Outrageously immoral and dismissive of the truth, the character seemed to attract affection. He gulled senator Joe McCarthy, who chased “reds under the beds”, supported by the man from whom you would least care to buy a second hand car, Richard M Nixon, who hung onto political office by his finger-nails until eventually he was elected President. During his second term, the Watergate incident and his lies culminated in a scandal which forced him into resignation. Harvey Matusow lived and thrived in these corrupt times and Robert Cohen presented an educating and entertaining evening, devised with help from the archives which Matusow donated to the University of Sussex.
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