The "Mind Mangler: Member of the Tragic Circle" theatre production has returned to Milton Keynes Theatre last night and will be there until Weds 5th June 2024. This comedy/magic show, created by Henry Lewis and Jonathan Sayer—known for "The Play That Goes Wrong" and "The Goes Wrong Show"—features a chaotic blend of mentalism and humour.
The Mind Mangler, a character originally from "Magic Goes Wrong," performs hilarious feats of mentalism that often spiral into comedic disarray. This show, which started at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2022, has evolved into a two-act performance that has toured the UK and even had a stint in New York in 2023.
Last night was comedy brilliance; with a huge amount of audience participation and with the clever pairing of Henry and Jonathan, the show came alive with non-stop laughs and magic illusions that didn’t always go to plan. The close comedy relationship between the pair was clear, which made for seamless scenes, in what was an overall planned chaotic performance of magic going wrong!
I don’t want to spoil it, but the ‘audience member’ volunteer seemed to pop up quite frequently with what appeared to be unscripted lines, that were cleverly worked into the show, leaving Henry almost lost for words and the audience rolling with laughter. Henry and Jonathan’s relationship takes some twists and turns during the show and almost reaches breaking point when one of the ‘audience’s’ secrets is released and it places their friendship in jeopardy.
I went into this show not knowing what to expect and left wanting more. During the interval I engaged in a discussion about what was ‘set-up’ and what was ad-lib and we really couldn’t call it! As the show progresses The Mind Mangler’s magic starts to take a turn as I started to question ‘how did he do that?’ or maybe that’s my naivety with magic and comedy! The finale was genius and I’m still playing it over in my mind what was said and what happened to attempt to piece it together!
Hilarious moments of Jonathan hypnotising Henry, when Henry thought he had hypnotised Jonathan left Henry vulnerable to sharing his secrets and spontaneously becoming a particular animal, had the audience howling with laughter.
There were moments of me shrinking in my seat, thinking please don’t choose me, but I was safe from him tapping into my ‘mind, mind, mind!’ Expect the unexpected and prepare to be amazed and amused as you witness hilarious feats of mentalism spiral into chaos as he attempts to read your ‘mind, mind, mind’…
Tickets for the Milton Keynes performances are available from £25.50, and the show will start at 7:30 pm each evening. For more information and to book tickets, you can visit the official Milton Keynes Theatre website here. There aren’t many tickets available, so I highly recommend you book these quickly, as this is a MUST-SEE show!
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