London’s Apollo Theatre welcomes the West End transfer of Mischief’s latest creation, following its original run at the Edinburgh Fringe. Guillermo Nazara shares his views on the production, to let us know if this slapstick magic show actually had a bad hare day.
I’ve always said that if you were able to read my mind for a minute or two, you would probably have to get tested… to see if you got my thoughts right. Seriously, can’t you spend one day without having your dirty stuff all on my back? Oh dear… Anyway. If you’ve nothing to hide, then you’re lying to yourself. And if you don’t, maybe it’s time to let others know. Like it or not, it’s going to happen, so buckle up, girl. Because the most powerful, talented and charismatic haruspex is in town – which one, though, I don’t know. I just happened to go the gala night of some other guy making a fool of himself at the heart of Shaftesbury Avenue.
Enter The Mangler. And yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking of. He’s a master of destruction. Especially, when it comes to his abilities. Because if there’s something that’s guaranteed in this show, it’s that, all previous pieces by the Mischief company, everything will go terribly wrong. But that’s precisely what makes it so terrifically right.
A passionate performer, as confident as he is untalented, brings out the chills (of some sort) with his never-mind act of dream-smashing numbers, which are as groundbreaking as flowers for spring. Seriously, though – he’s bloody awful. And boy, will that make you laugh out loud for the whole evening! Because despite his complete ineptitude for anything related to the artz of mentalism and prestigiditation (his lobotimised assistant certainly doesn’t help either), this is probably the only magic show whose failure manages to do the trick. And in what a brilliant way!
Penned by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields (because something so catastrophic can’t happen in reality… then again, someone let Pierce Brosnan sing once… and twice…), the script is a constant bang of uproarious gags, jaw-dropping twists and a tiny bit of truly surprising illusions. Following the company’s signature formula (taking traditional montages and beating the sh*t out of them by, welll, turning them into that), it’s fair to suspect that their new creation may, in fact, not feature anything new at all – a fear that was sadly realized with their Peter Pan parody. This one, however, couldn’t be further from that state.
While staying truthful to the troupe’s style of humour, Mind Mangler manages to stand alone by preserving its originality all through the rendition. Of course there will be dirty jokes. And yes, you will be dealing with moment so stupid, it will make your first time look like a Greek philosophers’ gathering (wait a minute…). But despite its familiarity with its sister productions, you won’t feel as if you’ve already experienced any of its punchlines before. And if you do, just cool down and try to enjoy life a bit, you pessimistic hag.
With a simple, well-executed set design by Sara Perks and even better lighting by David Howe, the shout-out goes, unarguably, to its two-man cast – flaunting, rather blazingly, their craft at being marvelously atrocious. Now, honestly – they are as ridiculously good as they’re good at being ridiculous. And it’s superb! Both Henry Lewis (The Mind Mangler) and Jonathan Sayer (The Stooge) emanate incredible chemistry onstage, forming a perfectly bonded duo that not only flawlessly complements each other’s portrayals, but also enhances the effectiveness of its absurdly compelling writing.
A wild ride of boisterous fun, the show achieves what politicians work so hard to obtain: being lauded for being horrible (in fiction, though). Entertaining, exciting and hilarious from start to finish, the Mischief company gets back in shape by messing up with another genre’s once again. Be prepared for a priceless, amusing farce of preposterous proportions. And to learn the most unconfessable filth about your fellow audience members (no, I’m not coming back, you gossip rascal). It’s The Mind Mangler, and it’s here to mutilate your boredom (but that b*tch had it coming anyway).
All pictures credit to Pamela Raith.
Mind Mangler: Member of the Tragic Circle plays at London’s Apollo Theatre until 28 April. Tickets are available on the following link.