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Surely even Derren Brown can’t guarantee precisely where a Frisbee flung up to the grand circle or a balloon lobbed into the stalls is going to land?
So the mystery remains – how, in a theatre seating close on 1,500 people, could this master of manipulation and illusion possibly deduce which foolhardy young chap had admitted, on a folded scrap of paper, to... well, I daren’t really say as Brown makes things difficult for the critics too.
How to review a show when you’ve explicitly been asked not to divulge what you’ve witnessed? So suffice to say that the experience of one volunteer demonstrated the power of susceptible mind over matter, paintballing will never be the same again for another couple of randomly picked spectators, and a mechanical automaton (the Svengali of the title and, according to Brown, dating back to the 18th century and lovingly restored by him before it goes on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum) manifests creepily supernatural abilities.
Brown spends perhaps too much time building the atmosphere of each new display of his powers, but there’s no doubting that he’s the consummate showman – still slightly sinister despite the charismatic patter, he keeps the audience on tenterhooks as his skilful show dovetails in a complex, neatly tied-up finale. A great night out.
Shaftesbury Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2H 8DP (020 7379 5399) Tube: Holborn/Tottenham Court Road shaftesburytheatre.com Until 16th July (£26- £51)
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