Derren Brown, master of psychological illusion and Laurence Olivier Award-winning showman, is set to return to the West End this summer with his brand new show Derren Brown: Svengali.
Following a national tour, Svengali – which literally means a person with dark intents who attempts to manipulate someone – will open at the Shaftesbury theatre on 13 June after previews from 8 June. For the first time ever, Brown will be directed by Polly Findlay whose current show Twisted Tales is playing at the Lyric Hammersmith.
Although Brown keeps the contents of his shows a tightly guarded secret, he has promised that Svengali will provide an evening of mind-melting based around audience participation, commenting: “More than that I wouldn’t want to say. I ask audiences to keep the contents of the show a secret so as not to spoil it for others, and I have to do the same. But I hope it’s fun and freaky and a great night out.”
Brown first came into the public eye in 2000 with television show Derren Brown: Mind Control and has been baffling audiences ever since with his awe-inspiring psychological tricks and inexplicable mind control. From predicting the lottery numbers to subconsciously persuading a group of people to perform a bank heist, Brown’s television programmes have attracted acclaim, debate and controversy in equal measures.
On the stage, his shows have included the Laurence Olivier Award-winning Something Wicked This Way Comes, Mind Reader – An Evening Of Wonders and 2009’s Derren Brown: Enigma.
Derren Brown: Svengali is written by Brown and long-term collaborators Iain Sharkey and Stephen Long and is currently booking to 16 July.
CM