It's a trilobite!

The latest in an occasional series of theatre reviews...

Derren Brown - Showman : The Apollo Theatre

"Some of you out there will review this - which is great and I really appreciate it.  But I must ask that your review of this show doesn't mention anything that actually happens in the show"

Errr - OK, Derren.  Let's see how I get on with that.  I've liked the stuff that he's done on the telly, but never been to see him live, so I was really looking forward to this.  But first I had to get to my seat - this was my third trip to the Apollo, but my first trip up to the balcony which I can only assume must be closed for most shows because it's a LONG way up.

The view to the rear of the stage is obscured but it wasn't a problem for this show because most of it was towards the front of the stage and they'd arranged screens which provided visibility of anything else.  And when we entered the theatre, this is what they displayed.

So, did Derren let me down?  No, he did not - it was a fascinating and entertaining show, involving all the sort of stuff you've come to expect from him.  You know you're being conned, but that's what you're there for and he does it with a smile on his face.  Some of the show was "just" hypnosis, but it was well done and didn't rely on humiliation.  Most of the rest of the show was variations of his mind-reading schtick, some of which is (obviously meticulously) planned out but a lot of it also depends on who he gets to interact with and he reacts well to whatever's thrown at him.  There was one point where I wasn't even sure WHAT he did let alone trying to work out how he did it (although the cold light of day has brought a theory which I'm quite proud of!).  And I think that's all I can really tell you...

If I had one quibble, I'd say that the first ending was a bit low key - it was quite moving but didn't really end the show with a flourish.  It was however followed by a second ending which was amusingly silly, so lightened the mood nicely - and then he slipped in an amazing final rug pull which had everyone talking on their way out the door.

One thing I can mention that doesn't give too much away was that at one point, he gets four people to bring personal items on stage and, after mixing them up, then tries to work out which object was brought by which person.  When describing the objects to us, he was a bit perplexed by one of them and, struggling to describe it, said "I'm not quite sure what it is" - at which point one of the women on stage shouts out "It's a trilobite!".  She didn't quite seem to understand that this might have made his job of matching people to objects a teensy bit easier - but he dealt with it all well (as he did when she insisted on a proper hug when leaving the stage).

So, a short review on account of not being allowed to say anything but it was a very enjoyable show and I'll certainly be looking to head in to catch his next one when he's got that going.  And at over 3 hours long, I certainly felt I'd got my money's worth out of the show and it left me with a lot to think about both in terms of the overall message and how he did most of the things I saw.

Orlando - short but sweet!
The Lehman Trilogy - another very enjoyable evening