Derren Brown – The Show
Posted: Thu 6 March, 2008 Filed under: Reviews(ish) 9 Comments »So a couple of people have asked how the Derren Brown show was, and I have to say, it was bloody good. I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the first one I saw, but it was still excellent.
He’s very good on stage, mixing up a whole heap of things including sarcasm, charm, showmanship, illusion, misdirection, and a bundle of others. And while some of the tricks are vaguely obvious and understandable, there are others that just leave me (and many others) still firmly convinced that there are stooges and colleagues in the audience. Logically, there’s no other explanation – but you never know.
All told, the show is well worth seeing – it’s a thoroughly enjoyable couple of hours.
Highly recommended. Just expect a headache by the end of it as you try to work out what the hell’s going on, how tricks are done, and just which gestures are actually forces, and which are misdirectiion.
Working in the business of show, as I do, I have to say that every hypnotist/mind-reader/etc I’ve ever seen has been an absolute charlatan. I can’t remember who it was, but I worked on a hypnotist show for a week, and the same people appeared on stage every night as “volunteers”.
It’s my hole, is what it is.
I have to say, that although I don’t trust Derren Brown as far as I could kick him, and never want to be in the same room as him ever again, when I got dragged up on stage it was a genuine thing. I was no stooge. I really didn’t want to be up there.
Can’t say that surprises me, to be honest. I suspect that might be the case (at least for some of the volunteers/victims – I know at least one was purely at random, Pix) if I could be arsed to go and see the show several times on the trot.
I’m assuming you were at the one in Grimsby.
Did you see the guy that got up when he wasn’t called? Have you figured out if he was part of it? I mean he didn’t fit anything at all… I was watching the banana the whole time.
I mean the guy just came up and mumble something that I thought was “…and I’m gonna shoot myself” (I was near the front)
And do pardon the length of this comment, but it baffled me almost as much as everything else…
No, sorry, I was at the one in Norwich. But you’re right, it does sound bizarre – definitely didn’t happen at the Norwich show, so I assume it’s just some weird Grimsbyite…
Did Derren seem to have a nervous tic in Norwich? His head kept sort of… twitching every so often. At first I assumed it was a subliminal thing but it was too obvious I think…
Yep, it’s either early-onset Parkinsons, or it’s a misdirection – it was noticed by a lot of people, which says to me it wasn’t an emphasis indicator…
Tad worrying…
Derren Brown said in an interview that his nervous tic comes from a technique he learned about nodding to persuade the other person to unconciously agree. Afterwards, he hasn’t been able to get rid of this habit which seems to have got worse over time. Just saw his last show last night and it was fab as ever with Derren Brown! I don’t understand how he does his tricks and I do not want to know! I am a huge fan!