Why Master of Mind Games Derren is Under No Illusions
“Mind reading is the most popular part of mentalism. ” – Bradlee Carter
Featured Article by Yorkshire Post Today
Where Derren Brown goes controversy follows, and with his latest show about to be screened, the illusionist talks to Grace Hammond.
Most entertainers judge the success of their act by the volume of the applause – not Derren Brown.
In the last few years, the illusionist has coerced a group of ordinary people into robbing a security van, put a gun to his head on live TV and left various members of the public looking dazed and confused, so unsurprisingly his stage show is no gentle affair.
Brown spent much of this year, touring with Something Wicked This Way Comes, a show which left some of the audience with a distinctly bad taste in their mouths.
“Unusually for me there is some physical stuff in the second half which ties into carnival freaks, but I am reluctant to give anything away,” says Brown as Channel 4 prepare to screen the show, filmed at London’s Old Vic.
“I try and give people a real ride and provoke lots of different kinds of reactions. On tour almost every night I had people fainting or having to leave, especially during this second half. Some people even throw up. It’s not that grisly, honestly – some more sensitive types just don’t cope very well.
“Unfortunately on the night they filmed there was no vomiting. It was really disappointing, I was tempted to plant a few audience members.”
The live show has been critically acclaimed, winning an Olivier Award in the Best Entertainment category this year and confirming Brown’s reputation as a man who has pushed the boundaries of magic way beyond rabbits out of hats.
“We won against The Blue Man Group, which I’m really surprised about. I went to see them the other day and they were fantastic – I think they were robbed.”
Derren calls his brand of “mind reading” a mixture of magic, suggestion, psychology, misdirection and showmanship. It’s also hard work and while some have questioned how much carefully editing plays in his previous television shows footage of theatre tour will perhaps serve as proof of Brown’s talent.
“Touring is tiring, but it’s enjoyably tiring,” he explains. “It’s probably more exhausting for the roadies and people who work behind the scenes – at least I got to relax in the afternoons.
“The show features lots of different techniques, some of which are real and some which aren’t. In the end, I think it’s more interesting to leave the questions open as to how specific things are done.”
The problem for Brown is that others are keen to categorise him and while when he first appeared on TV screens he could do no wrong, more recently the press hasn’t been entirely favourable.
Three years ago, his decision to play Russian roulette live on Channel 4 was both condemned by those fearful of copycats and dismissed by others as a pointless hoax, and when he followed it up with a seance at a location he claimed had been the scene of a mass suicide pact some 30 years earlier, 700 complaints were logged, most of them before the programme had even aired.
The critics haven’t yet dented his thirst for experimentation and earlier this year under the guise of a motivational seminar he selected four members of the public easily open to persuasion and set about manipulating them in the way only Brown knows how. The result was Heist, in which three of the four fell foul of Brown’s powers of suggestion and, armed with toy guns, robbed a security van.
“I’ve done plenty of other things that weren’t controversial,” he says. “But things like the Heist and the Russian roulette are what people remember.
“I try to do things that aren’t formulaic and are different from the last show, things that are dramatically strong. Sometimes that might involve a subject that some people take offence to – it might encourage people to question certain beliefs.
“Being controversial is not a bad thing, but I never do it for the sake of it – it’s just a by-product. The level of outrage provoked in some people I just don’t understand.”
His knockers have also claimed that despite appearances to the contrary, the routines are simply standard magic tricks dressed up as something other-worldly, but Brown has never made any claims to possess supernatural powers and part of his appeal is that despite his ability to make people willingly hand over hard cash and shoplift, he seems like an ordinary man on the street.
With a loyal following, next year will see him embark on a new tour and TV series, and like any self-respecting celebrity he has already made a New Year resolution.
“I never used to understand what people were talking about when they said they were getting stressed,” he says.
“But I’m working so hard I’ve started finding myself getting flustered with people sometimes. I don’t like that at all in myself, so my resolution is to not get shirty with people.”
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Something Wicked This Way Comes, Channel 4, Friday, 10pm.
Derren Brown Live 2007: Hull New Theatre, May 8 & 9, 01482 22665; St George’s Hall, Bradford, June 4, 01274 432000; Sheffield City Hall, June 5, 0114 278 9789.
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