Master manipulator Derren amazes

It’s not every 21 year old that gets to celebrate his big day on stage in front of 1500 people at Leeds Grand. 

But that’s what happened to my partner’s son Joe, who joined his hero master manipulator Derren Brown, and a very creepy automaton, on stage for the showpiece mind control section of his new show Svengali. 

Derren asked reviewers not to give the game away about what his new touring production sets out to achieve, so I won’t.  But suffice to say the audience was left baffled as to how Derren pulled it off, and Joe had a fantastic time. 

Derren’s old time music hall shtick would have been better suited to the Varieties across the road, but such is his huge popularity that it was a full house in this beautiful Victorian theatre. 

Aside from Joe’s contribution, this was more of a greatest hits style show as Darren showed his astonishing ability to read body language to suck out our deepest, darkest secrets.  He even managed to get one young lad to confess to finding a staggering 12 dildos in his mum’s bedroom. 

His other skill is to misdirect us time and time again, planting subconscious thoughts into our heads, before pulling off yet another seemingly impossible feat of mind reading or prediction.  Part of the thrill of this show is hoping that Darren will fail, but sadly he doesn’t as we are really very predictable. 

But what has made Derren a superstar is his effortless charm and the timing of a great stand up.  We may be being manipulated, but it never feels spiteful, smug or cruel.  It would have been easy to mock Joe and make him do daft things, but all the way through the routine you felt Derren was in control, and happy for us to gasp at his skills, rather than mock a young man. 

I went along as part of Joe’s birthday celebrations and came out a huge fan of this master mindmelter.  As well as being on occasions genuinely amazing, this is a fun show full of gentle humour from a consummate old school showman who knows us more than we know ourselves.  

My advice is next time he is in town make sure you book early, and get a ticket for a unique spectacular that is worth every penny of the thirty plus quid I paid. 

• Derren Brown is at The Grand until February 25.