REVIEW: DERREN BROWN,

UNDERGROUND,

BOURNEMOUTH PAVILION THEATRE.

As the excited ecstatic audience spilled into the car park after giving this fantastic show a wildly enthusiastic standing ovation, we were bombarded by the crowd’s questions – “How did he do that?” ... “How on earth did that girl from the balcony know he would do that?”... “How was that guy in the stalls able to know that?”

The talented Derren Brown makes your brain ache ... in the best possible way!

Is he just a very accomplished magician, a genuine mystical psychic, or merely a clever con-man?

The truth is that Brown is a brilliantly intelligent entertainer, with a hugely enjoyable show.

It’s compelling, pacy, and marvellously maddening, because you’re torn between wanting to know how he’s doing it all, and just accepting that it’s very clever, beautifully polished, and magical tremendous fun!

When we last reviewed Derren Brown’s show Enigma at BIC in 2010, you could describe the clever content and embarrassing details.

But now, five years later with Brown a world-wide phenomenon and media star, photography of the show is strictly forbidden, the press are discouraged from revealing the show’s content, and there is altogether more control. Even the show’s advertising flyer shows Derren with a warning finger over his mouth.

Derren Brown is a psychologist, humorist, and a wonderful showman, simultaneously exploring and playing with the human mind.

This unforgettable show – intriguing and astounding – runs until Wednesday and then tours the UK. Unmissable!

Brendan McCusker