Mind Mangler Archives - North West End UK

31May

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Mind Mangler – Hull New Theatre

My reviewer mind started to be slightly mangled as I was handed my press pack in Hull New Theatre’s foyer on Thursday night, and told there would be no programme available for Mind Mangler: Member of the Tragic Circle. No programme meant I had to really pull up my reviewer socks and, gulp, concentrate for the duration of the show. After the initial shock wore off, I took my seat in row N of the stalls, after being handed a pencil and a folded card upon which we were asked to write our full name and a secret about ourselves. Now, my regular reader will know I have an intense aversion to audience participation. So I tucked the blank card away from the prying eyes of the tall young man collecting completed cards from those eager theatregoers not as averse to the spotlight. However...

Mind Mangler – Alexandra Theatre

‘From the comedic minds behind “The Play That Goes Wrong” and “Peter Pan Goes Wrong”’ boasts the poster. Featuring two of the original “Play Goes Wrong” creators - Henry Lewis and Jonathan Sayer, both accomplished and veteran go-wrongers, with impressive CVs of chucklesome achievements and each with an enviable comedic reputation. The stakes and standards are high. Will the expectations and the boasts be met? Add into the alluring mix a couple of familiar names from the world of sleight of hand - Penn and Teller, though neither are present, their influence is felt. A perfunctory sniff around the branding and website would suggest a comedy magic show with a dollop of mind-reading leading to, as they used to say in the Radio Times, hilarious consequences. “The Play That Goes Wrong” was a daz...

Mind Mangler: Member of the Tragic Circle – Apollo Theatre

Mind Mangler, Keith (performed by Henry Lewis), is a mentalist, a human lie-detector, an expert at prophesy, a man who can read your mind. As this show comes from the crazy team at Mischief Productions who also devised the hugely successful The Play That Goes Wrong and Peter Pan Goes Wrong, it's not long before the Mind Mangler's tricks spiral into chaos. Lewis is an imposing figure with a sonorous voice that is perfect for this role. He exudes misplaced self-confidence in his abilities, while recognising that his past is not without its flaws. A lot of flaws. This is a performer with huge aspirations to play Las Vegas but who fate will undoubtedly and inevitably kick to the end of the pier. There's a lot of audience participation, from revealing personal secrets to mixing up Rubik cube...