Derren Brown
Showman
Cliffs Pavilion, Southend on Sea
30 August to 3 September 2022
Showman
Cliffs Pavilion, Southend on Sea
30 August to 3 September 2022
DERREN BROWN INTERVIEW
As you embark on the 2022 leg of the SHOWMAN tour, looking back, what would you say was the inspiration behind the show?
Funnily enough, the show was written pre-lockdown, about how the things in life that feel most isolating actually tend to be the very things that we share. And then this literal play-out of that idea happens, globally. So that has remained at its heart - it has a gentle thread about how we share our human difficulties, and the value of remembering what’s important.
The 2022 SHOWMAN tour is the largest you’ve ever undertaken. What do you see as your main personal challenges?
Yes, I’ll be touring March to November, which is very long for me, but I’m hugely looking forward to it. It’s such an enjoyable process, and I’m with the best bunch of people, and I get to have my days free, which is quite a luxury. My main personal challenge is to have things to occupy me during the day. It’s a great time to be writing, so I tend to concentrate on that.
Funnily enough, the show was written pre-lockdown, about how the things in life that feel most isolating actually tend to be the very things that we share. And then this literal play-out of that idea happens, globally. So that has remained at its heart - it has a gentle thread about how we share our human difficulties, and the value of remembering what’s important.
The 2022 SHOWMAN tour is the largest you’ve ever undertaken. What do you see as your main personal challenges?
Yes, I’ll be touring March to November, which is very long for me, but I’m hugely looking forward to it. It’s such an enjoyable process, and I’m with the best bunch of people, and I get to have my days free, which is quite a luxury. My main personal challenge is to have things to occupy me during the day. It’s a great time to be writing, so I tend to concentrate on that.
The show is garnering rave reviews. Does this put extra pressure on you or does it act as a confidence booster?
Yes, I think it’s had the best response of any show I’ve done. It’s lovely to know, and a happy thing to read people’s responses right after a show on Twitter, but ultimately, in order to do it night after night, I can only really be concerned about the relationship between me and the particular audience in front of me. I think about that; I think about whether I’m enjoying it and bringing to it what I must; I think about how I will spend my days; I think about how my little team are and whether they’re happy and doing a good job. And it’s always hard for any performer in a relationship, leaving your partner at home to deal with all the day-to-day stuff while you’re off ‘having fun with your friends’. Navigating that takes up mental space too. Those are really all my concerns. As far as reviews go, if they all had the same grumble, I’m sure we’d look at changing what was obviously a problem. But as long as they’re all very happy, they don’t really take up any space in my head. Which is the best way.
Would you say SHOWMAN is your most personal theatrical show to date?
Definitely. And it’s a real treat to do for exactly that reason. And to have people respond to it so well night after night make it even more so.
Which is your favourite of the TV shows / documentaries you’ve done?
Maybe Apocalypse. It was such a mammoth, mad, ambitious thing, and such an emotional journey for all of us. Steve and I are still good friends and he’s doing very well. But the shows that have meant something important to the person going through it: those will always be the ones that I’ll remember most fondly.
Looking back, what did you want to be when you were a kid?
A vet! Because I loved animals. And I think I wanted to be a poet at some point. I studied later to be a lawyer, but that was no fun. I soon preferred the idea becoming a magician. I thought it was important to know the way I wanted my life to feel, and I knew I wanted to be in charge of how I spent my time, when I worked, when I woke up in the morning and so on. So as I was good at magic, it made sense to try to do it as a job. If the magic hadn’t worked out, I’d have found something else that still gave me those things I thought were important. I’ve always thought like that: I’ve never had any ambition or thought much about where I wanted to be in the future. Just tried to make things feel right in the present and do things that seemed interesting or fun.
Yes, I think it’s had the best response of any show I’ve done. It’s lovely to know, and a happy thing to read people’s responses right after a show on Twitter, but ultimately, in order to do it night after night, I can only really be concerned about the relationship between me and the particular audience in front of me. I think about that; I think about whether I’m enjoying it and bringing to it what I must; I think about how I will spend my days; I think about how my little team are and whether they’re happy and doing a good job. And it’s always hard for any performer in a relationship, leaving your partner at home to deal with all the day-to-day stuff while you’re off ‘having fun with your friends’. Navigating that takes up mental space too. Those are really all my concerns. As far as reviews go, if they all had the same grumble, I’m sure we’d look at changing what was obviously a problem. But as long as they’re all very happy, they don’t really take up any space in my head. Which is the best way.
Would you say SHOWMAN is your most personal theatrical show to date?
Definitely. And it’s a real treat to do for exactly that reason. And to have people respond to it so well night after night make it even more so.
Which is your favourite of the TV shows / documentaries you’ve done?
Maybe Apocalypse. It was such a mammoth, mad, ambitious thing, and such an emotional journey for all of us. Steve and I are still good friends and he’s doing very well. But the shows that have meant something important to the person going through it: those will always be the ones that I’ll remember most fondly.
Looking back, what did you want to be when you were a kid?
A vet! Because I loved animals. And I think I wanted to be a poet at some point. I studied later to be a lawyer, but that was no fun. I soon preferred the idea becoming a magician. I thought it was important to know the way I wanted my life to feel, and I knew I wanted to be in charge of how I spent my time, when I worked, when I woke up in the morning and so on. So as I was good at magic, it made sense to try to do it as a job. If the magic hadn’t worked out, I’d have found something else that still gave me those things I thought were important. I’ve always thought like that: I’ve never had any ambition or thought much about where I wanted to be in the future. Just tried to make things feel right in the present and do things that seemed interesting or fun.
Looking forward, what ambitions do you hope to achieve?
For all the above reasons, I have none. I’m more interested in seeing what life brings as I get older and how I can try and remain in an easy accordance with it.
Your latest book, A BOOK OF SECRETS, advices us to embrace uncertainty and consider the value of difficulty in our lives – which appears particularly relevant in these Covid times. Did the pandemic influence the book?
Yes, I started it in New York pre-pandemic and finished it during the second lockdown. The previous book, Happy (and its baby brother, A Little Happier) are about Stoicism which I think is very useful. But there is much more to be said about the human experience, and this book is about ways of navigating difficulty that are more about connection, rather than drawing your centre of gravity within.
Finally, what new projects are you working on?
I’m co-creating a production of the Invisible Man; I’m helping form an interesting magic-related event which is in its early days; and I am co-creating a big show which I think will be rather special for 2023. These all have me firmly behind the scenes, which I’m rather enjoying. When I have my art studio sorted out at the new house, I’ll be painting again. I’m also writing a book for magicians, and I have a juicy idea for a new book for the public. And this eight month stint of Showman… plenty to be getting on with.
For all the above reasons, I have none. I’m more interested in seeing what life brings as I get older and how I can try and remain in an easy accordance with it.
Your latest book, A BOOK OF SECRETS, advices us to embrace uncertainty and consider the value of difficulty in our lives – which appears particularly relevant in these Covid times. Did the pandemic influence the book?
Yes, I started it in New York pre-pandemic and finished it during the second lockdown. The previous book, Happy (and its baby brother, A Little Happier) are about Stoicism which I think is very useful. But there is much more to be said about the human experience, and this book is about ways of navigating difficulty that are more about connection, rather than drawing your centre of gravity within.
Finally, what new projects are you working on?
I’m co-creating a production of the Invisible Man; I’m helping form an interesting magic-related event which is in its early days; and I am co-creating a big show which I think will be rather special for 2023. These all have me firmly behind the scenes, which I’m rather enjoying. When I have my art studio sorted out at the new house, I’ll be painting again. I’m also writing a book for magicians, and I have a juicy idea for a new book for the public. And this eight month stint of Showman… plenty to be getting on with.
★★★★★ “Brilliant…Derrren Brown is certainly a master of his craft”. (Broadway World)
★★★★★ “In a show full of mischief, madness, mind-blowing wizardry and a whole lot of heart – Showman is a spectacle that wows just as much as it charms…Put simply, it is a masterclass in mind-trickery and manipulation”. (Belfast Telegraph)
★★★★★ “Derren Brown’s charisma, humour, showmanship, and all-round talent is above and beyond anything I have seen before” (Musicbox Unwinds)
★★★★★ “Only two words are needed…mind blowing! He manages to touch each and every spectator and I’ve no doubt that on leaving the auditorium, we’ve all been, if not changed, then given the space to consider life and the choices we make”. (East Midlands Theatre)
★★★★★ "Absolutely brilliant. I am still wondering a week later how Derren was able to read members of the audience. It was equally funny and thought-provoking. I came away feeling understood." (Plymouth Herald)
★★★★★ “In a show full of mischief, madness, mind-blowing wizardry and a whole lot of heart – Showman is a spectacle that wows just as much as it charms…Put simply, it is a masterclass in mind-trickery and manipulation”. (Belfast Telegraph)
★★★★★ “Derren Brown’s charisma, humour, showmanship, and all-round talent is above and beyond anything I have seen before” (Musicbox Unwinds)
★★★★★ “Only two words are needed…mind blowing! He manages to touch each and every spectator and I’ve no doubt that on leaving the auditorium, we’ve all been, if not changed, then given the space to consider life and the choices we make”. (East Midlands Theatre)
★★★★★ "Absolutely brilliant. I am still wondering a week later how Derren was able to read members of the audience. It was equally funny and thought-provoking. I came away feeling understood." (Plymouth Herald)
BIOGRAPHY
Born in Croydon, UK, in 1971, Derren traces his interest in magic and psychological techniques to childhood, but it was only later, at Bristol University, where he reluctantly studied Law and German, that he started to delve more seriously into the stranger edges of human experience and what they might mean to us.
After graduating, Derren forewent an international legal career and concentrated on developing his performance skills. He was able to pay the bills by working as a magician and hypnotist with a side line in portraiture.
His big break came in 1999 when he was asked by the UK’s Channel 4 to put a TV show together. The result, DERREN BROWN: MIND CONTROL, was shown in 2000, proving an immediate success and winning a coveted Rose d’Or. Since then, re-defining magic through must-see TV and stage events, Derren has exhilarated audiences world-wide with a never-equalled brand of mind-control, suggestion, showmanship and illusion.
His name has become synonymous with the art of psychological manipulation in the UK, and he has gained a reputation as a performer prepared to constantly challenge and break down boundaries.
Amongst a varied and notorious TV career, Derren has played Russian Roulette live, convinced middle-managers to commit armed robbery, led the nation in a séance, stuck viewers at home to their sofas, successfully predicted the National Lottery, motivated a shy man to land a packed passenger plane at 30,000 feet, hypnotised another to assassinate Stephen Fry and created a zombie apocalypse for an unwitting participant after dramatically ending the world.
In THE PUSH (streaming on Netflix), he exposed the psychological secrets of obedience and social compliance with terrifying results, again creating must-watch television and passionate media debate worldwide. His show MIRACLE (which blows the roof off the dark world of evangelical faith-healing) is also a popular choice on Netflix. Derren’s most recent TV special, SACRIFICE, also steaming on Netflix, astonished audiences around the world as he attempted to persuade someone to make the ultimate sacrifice: lay down his life for a complete stranger.
In 2020, the great man celebrated twenty years on Channel 4 with DERREN BROWN, 20 YEARS OF MIND CONTROL: LIVE, a dedicated night honouring some of his most jaw-dropping moments on TV.
He has won various awards, which include a 2012 Best Entertainment BAFTA for DERREN BROWN: THE EXPERIMENTS, an RTS Award for Best Entertainment Programme (THE EXPERIMENTS) and a 2010 Broadcast Award for DERREN BROWN: THE EVENTS).
He has toured every year since 2003 with a series of live shows, which have won him two prestigious Olivier Awards – for SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES (2006) and SVENGALI (2012). In 2018 he received his fifth nomination, for UNDERGROUND. This means Derren has had the largest number of nominations and wins for one-person shows in the history of the Olivier Awards.
In 2017 Derren recently made an enthusiastically embraced stage debut at the Atlantic Theater in New York with his show SECRET, winning the 2018 NY Drama Desk award for Unique Theatrical Entertainment. The show transferred to Broadway, in Nov 2019, enjoying a sell-out season at The Cort Theatre until early Jan 2020.
As an author, Derren has received much praise for his best-selling books, TRICKS OF THE MIND, CONFESSIONS OF A CONJUROR and HAPPY, which have, collectively, sold over a million copies worldwide. Transworld recently published A LITTLE HAPPIER, condensing the lessons of Derren Brown's Sunday Times bestseller HAPPY into a series of thoughtful and inspiring mini-chapters. His new book: A BOOK OF SECRETS: FINDING SOLACE IN A STUBBORN WORLD, is now available.
Privately, Derren paints and photographs. His book PORTRAITS offers a collection of his early paintings, which have been exhibited at the Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London. A book of his street photography, MEET THE PEOPLE WITH LOVE, has been released, again by Transworld. Examples of his accomplished work can be viewed on his website and Instagram page.
He recently recorded a series of successful podcasts for Audible called BOOT CAMP FOR THE BRAIN, and is currently developing a new stage version of THE INVISIBLE MAN, which plans to premiere in the autumn of 2022.
After a successful run of DERREN BROWN: SHOWMAN in 2021, his latest theatre tour, will be back on tour, kicking off in March 2022.
Born in Croydon, UK, in 1971, Derren traces his interest in magic and psychological techniques to childhood, but it was only later, at Bristol University, where he reluctantly studied Law and German, that he started to delve more seriously into the stranger edges of human experience and what they might mean to us.
After graduating, Derren forewent an international legal career and concentrated on developing his performance skills. He was able to pay the bills by working as a magician and hypnotist with a side line in portraiture.
His big break came in 1999 when he was asked by the UK’s Channel 4 to put a TV show together. The result, DERREN BROWN: MIND CONTROL, was shown in 2000, proving an immediate success and winning a coveted Rose d’Or. Since then, re-defining magic through must-see TV and stage events, Derren has exhilarated audiences world-wide with a never-equalled brand of mind-control, suggestion, showmanship and illusion.
His name has become synonymous with the art of psychological manipulation in the UK, and he has gained a reputation as a performer prepared to constantly challenge and break down boundaries.
Amongst a varied and notorious TV career, Derren has played Russian Roulette live, convinced middle-managers to commit armed robbery, led the nation in a séance, stuck viewers at home to their sofas, successfully predicted the National Lottery, motivated a shy man to land a packed passenger plane at 30,000 feet, hypnotised another to assassinate Stephen Fry and created a zombie apocalypse for an unwitting participant after dramatically ending the world.
In THE PUSH (streaming on Netflix), he exposed the psychological secrets of obedience and social compliance with terrifying results, again creating must-watch television and passionate media debate worldwide. His show MIRACLE (which blows the roof off the dark world of evangelical faith-healing) is also a popular choice on Netflix. Derren’s most recent TV special, SACRIFICE, also steaming on Netflix, astonished audiences around the world as he attempted to persuade someone to make the ultimate sacrifice: lay down his life for a complete stranger.
In 2020, the great man celebrated twenty years on Channel 4 with DERREN BROWN, 20 YEARS OF MIND CONTROL: LIVE, a dedicated night honouring some of his most jaw-dropping moments on TV.
He has won various awards, which include a 2012 Best Entertainment BAFTA for DERREN BROWN: THE EXPERIMENTS, an RTS Award for Best Entertainment Programme (THE EXPERIMENTS) and a 2010 Broadcast Award for DERREN BROWN: THE EVENTS).
He has toured every year since 2003 with a series of live shows, which have won him two prestigious Olivier Awards – for SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES (2006) and SVENGALI (2012). In 2018 he received his fifth nomination, for UNDERGROUND. This means Derren has had the largest number of nominations and wins for one-person shows in the history of the Olivier Awards.
In 2017 Derren recently made an enthusiastically embraced stage debut at the Atlantic Theater in New York with his show SECRET, winning the 2018 NY Drama Desk award for Unique Theatrical Entertainment. The show transferred to Broadway, in Nov 2019, enjoying a sell-out season at The Cort Theatre until early Jan 2020.
As an author, Derren has received much praise for his best-selling books, TRICKS OF THE MIND, CONFESSIONS OF A CONJUROR and HAPPY, which have, collectively, sold over a million copies worldwide. Transworld recently published A LITTLE HAPPIER, condensing the lessons of Derren Brown's Sunday Times bestseller HAPPY into a series of thoughtful and inspiring mini-chapters. His new book: A BOOK OF SECRETS: FINDING SOLACE IN A STUBBORN WORLD, is now available.
Privately, Derren paints and photographs. His book PORTRAITS offers a collection of his early paintings, which have been exhibited at the Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London. A book of his street photography, MEET THE PEOPLE WITH LOVE, has been released, again by Transworld. Examples of his accomplished work can be viewed on his website and Instagram page.
He recently recorded a series of successful podcasts for Audible called BOOT CAMP FOR THE BRAIN, and is currently developing a new stage version of THE INVISIBLE MAN, which plans to premiere in the autumn of 2022.
After a successful run of DERREN BROWN: SHOWMAN in 2021, his latest theatre tour, will be back on tour, kicking off in March 2022.