Following last week’s Olivier Award nomination, Derren Brown’s 2011 show Svengali will return to the West End this summer for a limited run at the Novello theatre.
The mind-bending Svengali will take up residence at the Novello theatre for 27 performances only, running from 12 July to 11 August. The show originally played at the Shaftesbury theatre last June before embarking on a UK tour which has seen the psychological master perform in over 150 venues.
Brown, who is best known for his appearances on television shows including Derren Brown: Mind Control and Trick Or Treat, hinted fans would have a chance to see new material during the run, saying: “I enjoy the stage shows more than anything else. This one is fun, dark, funny, freaky. Live on stage is the best place for what I do: it’s unpredictable, and the audience knows there’s no possibility of judicious editing. Plus we’ve put in new material for this year and the show has grown and changed on the road more than any other.”
With the audience sworn to secrecy at every performance, describing a Derren Brown stage show is always tricky. But it’s fair to say that Svengali is a darkly spooky evening of psychological tricks, mind control, audience participation and mind boggling stunts.
Brown’s other appearances in the West End include his Olivier Award-winning Something Wicked This Way Comes, Derren Brown: Enigma and Mind Reader – An Evening Of Wonders.
Derren Brown: Svengali is co-written by Brown and long-term collaborators Iain Sharkley and Stephen Long, and is directed by Polly Findlay.