The Mind Mangler
Cambridge Arts Theatre
21st May 2024
‘The Mind Mangler’ is the latest creation from the minds of the Mischief Theatre production group. The creators of ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ (which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year), ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’, and ‘The Comedy About A Bank Robbery’ (which went wrong) branched out into spoofing the magic industry in 2019 with ‘Magic Goes Wrong’. The show introduced us to ‘The Mind Mangler’, a bumbling Derren Brown-wannabe psychic and illusionist whose efforts generally failed at every turn, and while overall the show was arguably one of the group’s weaker efforts, the character’s segments were the strongest elements within it. Now the star of his own show, ‘The Mind Mangler’ has begun a nationwide tour of silliness, setting up his box of tricks this week at Cambridge Arts Theatre.
Written by Henry Lewis (who plays the title role), Jonathan Sayer (who plays a dim-witted assistant) and Henry Shields, ‘The Mind Mangler’ isn’t really a play, it’s more of a scripted comedy performance, and a very entertaining one at that. Directed with tongue-in-cheek humour by Hannah Sharkey and littered with visual sight gags and clever audio mix-ups, the laughs come thick and fast, helped enormously by a fantastic central performance from Lewis, and endearing supported by Sayer. Sara Perks’ set certainly looks great, as goes David How’s lighting and Gillian Tan’s video designs, but it’s the script that’s the real winner here. Where other Mischief productions have focused more on physical comedy elements to get their laughs, here it’s all in a clever witty book, skilful ad-libbing by Lewis, and some brilliant chemistry with Sayer with the two of them bouncing off each other brilliantly. There are also some deceptively simple illusions delivered by Lewis (crafted by magician Ben Hart), which pay off brilliantly.
In the same way that ‘The Mind Mangler’ hinges on the immense likeability of Henry Lewis in the titular role (and he is excellent), your enjoyment of the show may be largely influenced by how much you enjoy audience participation. ‘The Mind Mangler’ doesn’t just break the fourth wall, it smashes through it with a wrecking ball and drags the audience into its spinning web of madness, interacting with them pretty much throughout the entire show. Some of this is entirely optional, some depends on where you sit, and most of it works to be fair, although the success of it will depend on how receptive the audience are to it on any given night. Lewis asks a lot of questions and spins comedy from the answers, a skill in itself and he’s clearly a seasoned improviser, but as with any comedy that contains an unscripted element, results will inevitably vary by performance. Anyone wishing to avoid as much interaction as possible would be advised to about sit halfway back to avoid the Mind Mangler’s eyeline. It’s all good-natured of course, and the production succeeds because of such interaction, but it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.
The least “theatrical” Mischief production to date, ‘The Mind Mangler’ delivers plenty of laughs, demonstrating the Mischief boys’ knack for great writing, and boasting a brilliant central performance from Henry Lewis. Audiences expecting a meaningful narrative or complex story won’t find one here, but they will find a hugely likeable evening, providing they’re willing to be a part of the show themselves.
