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Well...I just got back from seeing Derren Brown's Something Wicked this Way Comes at the Cambridge Theatre in London.

I'm not going to talk about technique and methodology because those things are not really important in terms of the show.

What is important is that Derren Brown, along with the endlessly talented Andy Nyman, have brought the golden age of Vaudevillian Mind Magic back to the public. This show drips with visual and performance quality, ingenuity, immense presentational variation and a mind numbing attention to pace and blocking.

We have all seen the old posters and advertisements that celebrate the hay-day of magic and "mysteries of the mind"... well... go see Derren Brown in this final leg of the tour and you can drink deeply from that pool of wonder and atmosphere for real!!! I can now imagine the excitement in the hearts of those lucky people who were drawn into the small theatres and parlours of decades gone by to see the latest awe inspiring wonders of true performers and artists.

The direction of the show under the expert mind of Andy Nyman is utter perfection. It is a roller coaster of ice breaking humour (I mean SIDE-SPLITTING), the cool charm and bottomless charisma of Derren Brown's personable presentation, right through to a moody and dark freak show of "not-right"-ness. The energy of Derren Brown's performance builds to a chaotic frenzy of mindwarping, twisting banter, charged audience participation and borderline mental breakdown. How Derren Brown is not is a institution for the near terminally exhausted I do not know!!!

This show offers modern audiences the full spectrum of Mentalism theatre and unadulterated showmanship I am SURE we have not seen since the likes of Anneman and Dunninger strode the stages... stages that undoubtedly looked (and felt) like the BEAUTIFUL stage set of Something Wicked this Way Comes..or at least it's fun to think they did, and that's the rich joy of the show...it feels right, it looks right and it bloody well is right.

Well done Messer’s Brown and Nyman!!! You chaps are true professional showmen in the most glorious sense and it was a wonderful treat to see such a celebration of this art form in full flight.

This show offers modern audiences the full spectrum of Mentalism theatre and unadulterated showmanship I am SURE we have not seen since the likes of Anneman and Dunninger strode the stages

How true how very true. There's so much that can be learn't from Derren's live performances, and I am not so much talking about the effects here but rather than the presentation.

Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere but this show was recorded earlier this year and will be shown in the UK on Channel 4 on Friday December 29th at 10pm. It’s repeated on E4 on Sunday 31st December at 9pm, then again on E4 +1 at 10pm same night.

Here's what Alison Graham says in the Radio Times:

"I was in the audience for this specially filmed Derren Brown performance at the Old Vic in London, though I spent most of the time slumped as far down in my seat as it was possible to go, silently begging Brown, "Please don't pick me to go on stage with you." And he didn't, thankfully - not even subliminally with his diabolical powers. Or at least, that's how they seem. Brown is, quite frankly, incredible and devilishly clever. Unsettling, too - there's one don't-try-this-at-home stunt that looks utterly impossible. If it were actually possible, it would surely be horribly bloody and painful. What makes Brown so special is that he's a terrific entertainer, in the real old-fashioned sense, who can control and compel an audience, while well placed shafts of humour don't let things get too weird or serious. It all adds up to a dark and disturbing evening that will leave you shaking your head in wonder."

It sounds absolutely top!

It's all of that and lots more. It's probably better viewed as a stage show rather than a TV recording but I'm not complaining!

Prepare to repel "I was wondering" and "How did he" posts on Saturday morning, skipper!

Yeh, I agree. You don't get quite the same 'buzz' on the TV screen(I would imagine) but it will still be bloody brilliant nonetheless.

Is it wrong to say that this will be the highlight of my holdiay? Because I think it probably will be.

**stares intently at screen, waiting for it to start(yes, I know, there's still two days to go)**

JackWright wrote:**stares intently at screen, waiting for it to start(yes, I know, there's still two days to go)**

Ha ha, you loon! I can just imagine Father Dougal doing the same...

Tomo wrote:

JackWright wrote:**stares intently at screen, waiting for it to start(yes, I know, there's still two days to go)**

Ha ha, you loon! I can just imagine Father Dougal doing the same...

Well, I probably am equally eccentric.

Anyway, it really is a good show, highly reccomended viewing.

EDIT: Oh my God!!! It's on in just over a day!!!!
**runs around insanely, then continues to stare at screen**

I was privileged enough to see him at the Palace Theater in Torquay (where I live), this was for his 'Evening of Wonders' performance and I must say it lived up to its name, a wonderful nights entertainment from a filled out theater and Derren's unmistakable wit and charisma meant I could keep watching for hours. I do my fair share of mentalism performances but nowhere near on par with Derren, his finale a production of everything that was going to happen during the night on a large scroll complete with the details of the 'victims' (I mean volunteers...honestly...) down to their jewelery was something that was seemingly impossible.
I own all of his material including the original lecture and have met the man on one occasion but nothing compares to seeing him where he belongs...on stage.

Chris Tennant