Before and during a Derren Brown show, you are politely asked as a journalist and reviewer not to give away any of the show's secrets. This of course isn't the easiest thing when you're trying to give a reader an idea of what to expect from the show, but luckily, Derren is a performer that has now for some time been entertaining audiences, and so the majority of those attending a show in the future should have some sort of idea about what they're going to see.
This is my fourth Derren Brown show I've attended. The first three - Enigma, Svengali and Infamous - were some of the most riveting, energetic and exciting performances I have seen in my lifetime. When I went away from those shows, I felt bewildered and astonished and, a little spooked out by much of what I had seen.
Whilst Miracle allows you to feel all of that, there's something even more. I walked out of the theatre feeling lighter than when I went in - and not just because the pizza I had before the show had started to digest. Derren uses Miracle to really enlighten the audience and improve not only their night, but potentially their life if they're willing to adopt and fully immerse themselves within his techniques.
It's easy to see why Derren still has as many fans today as he ever has. He's charismatic, genuinely funny and the perfect embodiment of a showman. Encapsulating his audience within his performances, he brings a real sense of believability to his act. For anyone else you may think stooges are being used, but it's easy to believe that this man could play tricks on just about anybody given the chance.
He not only uses his performances to show off his skills, but to give social commentary on a range of topics. For example, in Infamous he did, for me at least, convince me never to pay a psychic or medium for a reading. Unhappy in the way in which a majority of them prey on the vulnerable for cash, he took on the role of a psychic in that show, Infamous, and proved how anybody with the right skills could pretend to talk to the dead.
In this show, he does the same with a different topic. I won't tell you which, because the goosebumps I got in the theatre when he announced what he'd be debunking are something that everybody should get to experience.
Miracle is a thoroughly rewarding and enjoyable watch. I implore anybody in the area to go and see it whenever they get the opportunity.
Derren Brown - 'Miracle' runs at The Lowry Theatre in Manchester until Friday, June 10 before returning for four more dates between June 10-13.
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