Expectations Upended: Derren Brown’s hit Broadway Show SECRET!

Specific types of people go to see magic shows. Those who want their world’s turned upside, no matter how unsettling; people who want to be fooled into a fantasy; willing participants signing up to have their heads severely messed with. I am one of those kind of people. However, I wasn’t prepared for the rabbit hole of wonders Derren Brown would spiral us into with his new hit Broadway show SECRET.

Derren Brown SECRET now showing on Broadway

At the Cort Theatre through 4 January 2020, SECRET, is a show true to its name. Brown dances the audience through layers upon layers of obscurity and mystery, keeping the secret his until the last possible moment. At the beginning of the evening Brown specifically asked that any reviews exclude specifics, in order to keep the show shrouded in secret and shock factor. This I am more than happy to oblige, future audience members deserve to be delighted and surprised just as I was. Besides, some of the illusions looked so complex (most probably complex in their simplicity) I wouldn’t even know where to start with writing about them.

SECRET, which first debuted in the US in 2017, winning the New York Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience, is back for round two. The show manages to incorporate heavy audience participation in a way that enchanted the crowd; even if you weren’t randomly selected to join Brown on stage you still felt as much part of the magic. This level of complete continued captivation and elation of an audience is a rare achievement for any theatre.

Brown on stage. Photo credit: http://derrenbrown.co.uk/shows/secret/

British born mentalist and illusionist Derren Brown is a two-time Olivier award winner, showcasing his magic on both screen and stage since 2000. He has written several best-selling books and – a first in the history of magic – has toured with eight sell-out one-man stage shows. Brown is also hilarious, a gifted showman, talented painter and annoyingly clever yet also personable, which makes him all the more intriguing.

SECRET gets inside your head, weaving webs of psychological manipulation and flashes of the fantastical. The audience are with Brown every enticing step of the way. He assures us he doesn’t have special powers but I doubt any of us believe him. One thing is for certain- I left truly believing that reality is most definitely overrated.