MIND MANGLER: MEMBER OF THE TRAGIC CIRCLE at The CHURCHILL THEATRE, BROMLEY

 


Tickets: Paid for 

Date: 6th March 2023

Seat: F31 (Stalls)

Star Rating: 5

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdzwXG5Q7ek

I have a great fondness for the work of Mischief Theatre, the company behind The Play That Goes Wrong, Magic Goes Wrong, The Goes Wrong Show, and a variety of spin-offs in the same vein. As soon as I saw the advertising for The Mind Mangler: Member of the Tragic Circle with Henry Lewis from Mischief, I was excited to see what it was all about. I was not disappointed; this show was everything I had hoped it would be, and I loved it. 

If you know anything of The Goes Wrong Show, you’ll know that Henry Lewis plays a big, blustering, egotistical character called Robert, who becomes increasingly frustrated as each play takes place because he thinks he’s better than everyone else and is always in the right. Lewis plays a version of Robert in Mind Mangler, and it’s as deliciously awful as you might expect – in the best possible way. 




The show begins with some audience participation, during which the Mind Mangler tries to guess professions and names using the power of his sense of taste and smell. Hilarity ensues due not just to the scripted jokes (that hardly seem scripted at all) but also because of the quick thinking of Lewis’ excellent improv skills. And then, just when everything seems to be going as wrong as wrong can be, everything is turned on its head because a hugely impressive trick goes well. Of course, by that point, the Mind Mangler is so annoyed that he barely seems to notice, but it does cause the audience to pause; is there really going to be some magic taking place tonight? 

There is a lot of audience participation in this show, and some audience members will go up on stage. This includes one 'random' audience member who everyone will instantly recognise; it’s Jonathan Sayer, another Mischief Theatre performer. With his t-shirt proclaiming that he is an audience member (and later, a different audience member), this is instantly funny. Of course, the pair are able to play off one another brilliantly, and even though you know Sayer is going to get things wrong and frustrate Lewis until he’s yelling and stamping around, you’re ready for it. Together, the pair ensure that every magic act the Mind Mangler attempts falls completely apart. It’s wonderful. 

In fact, one of my favourite parts of the show was when a hypnosis segment went disastrously wrong, and, thanks to some suggestions from the audience, the Mind Mangler had to act like a sexy badger. Don’t ask. Just go with it. It works. 




But don’t think it’s all crazy antics and things going wrong. Some of Lewis’ tricks are genuinely incredible. To provide just two examples, he tears a newspaper to shreds and then miraculously reconstructs it, and he also manages to properly recount some audience members' most embarrassing moments in astonishing detail. The last trick, involving a scroll trapped in a chest that has been suspended above the stage the entire time, has a payout that is on par with that of any "authentic" mentalist.

The Mind Mangler: Member of the Tragic Circle is a joy. It's pure fun and silliness from beginning to end, with some mind-bending magic thrown in, and if that's not the perfect way to spend a couple of hours, I don't know what is. 

 

To book tickets (and I highly recommend you do), click here: https://www.mischiefcomedy.com/mind-mangler-member-of-the-tragic-circle/uk-tour/tour-dates 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: REBECCA at The Charing Cross Theatre, London

Image
  Tickets: Gifted Date: 18th September 2023 Seat: G3 Rating: 3 Stars From the first chilling note to the final fiery scene, Rebecca is an all-out melodrama, complete with sinister plots, a soaring score, and characters that wouldn’t look out of place in a panto – but that’s all part of its charm. It’s an over-the-top, entirely gorgeous piece of outlandish theatre, and I absolutely loved it. Although, that’s not to say there aren’t a few issues.  One of the biggest problems with Rebecca is that something seems to have been a little lost in translation. The story still makes sense (although perhaps knowing the Daphne du Maurier novel or the 1940 Hitchcock adaptation with Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine does help with that), but some of the lyrics just seem too on the nose, or just not clever enough to be memorable. Perhaps the original German gives a different feeling, but in English, there are a few moments that get lost and aren’t as strong as they might be.  Plus, this musical is
Read more

Review: BRONCO BILLY at The Charing Cross Theatre, London

Image
Photo credit: The Other Richard Date: 31st January 2024 Seat: M6 (Stalls) Tickets: Gifted Rating: 3 Stars  Adapting older movies into musicals seems to be a trend these days, some with better results than others, and Bronco Billy , with a book by Dennis Hackin and music and lyrics by Chip Rosenbloom and John Torres (with additional lyrics by Michele Brourman), is one of the better ones – if anything, it’s improved the film and made it a lot more enjoyable for everyone, which is something every audience member is sure to appreciate.  The main word that can be used to describe Bronco Billy is fun. It’s wild and wacky and loud and bright, and there are some wonderful characters and some lovely songs, but really when you leave, it’s the fun you’ve had that stays with you, and that’s no bad thing – if you’re feeling a bit down because January lasted for sixty billion months and you need a quick pick-me-up, Bronco Billy might just do the trick.  The story is about a travelling circus of mi
Read more

Review: SLEEPING BEAUTY at The Hawth, Crawley

Image
Date: 9th December 2023  Seat: L3 (Stalls) Tickets: Gifted Rating: 5 Stars  You can’t get much more classic than Sleeping Beauty when it comes to the annual panto, and at The Hawth in Crawley this year, it’s this story that takes centre stage – but don’t worry if you think you’ve seen it all before; there are some fantastic surprises in store, including some rather impressive prehistoric pets, fire performers, and plenty of musical theatre references throughout.  Why musical theatre? Because two of the panto’s stars are West End performers with some notable credits to their names – that’s Carrie Hope Fletcher (who plays Carrie-Bosse) from such shows as Les Miserables and Heathers , and Scott Paige (The Good Spirit Moonbeam), who’s starred in The Great British Bake Off Musical and The Addams Family . Add to that some wholesomeness from Andy Day, a CBeebies presenter every child (and parent) in the audience is sure to know, and you’ve got the ingredients for a fantastic show.  Fletcher
Read more