Review of The Mind Mangler at Milton Keynes Theatre

Mischief Theatre has been creating havoc in theatres across the world now for ten years with shows like The Play That Goes Wrong and Peter Pan Goes Wrong regularly doing the rounds. Their latest incarnation, reaching Milton Keynes Theatre this week on a UK tour, is The Mind Mangler, a two-man solo show (with some audience participation) offering more chaos, this time around mind-bending-mind-reading.

The Mind Mangler is played by Mischief Theatre co-founder Henry Lewis with a mixture of menace, danger, and cuddliness, a devastating combination. For anyone who has seen Lewis on stage before, you will be well aware of his tremendous stage presence, a booming voice full of the greatest of enunciation and perhaps, with The Mind Mangler he has one of his greatest creations to use these skills.

It is beyond the stage presence however that this character delves, into one of self-mocking in the extreme, the ability to try to smooth his suit out as his self-importance fails as his mind-reading ability does. Self-deprecation is often one of the funniest sources of jokes, and with Lewis, and the genius Mischief Theatre writers, there is some remarkably funny material here.

Alongside Lewis as "Audience Member" is another Mischief founder, Jonathan Sayer and he becomes the perfect foil and annoyance to The Mind Magler, over-eager to get involved and also key to the evolving storyline. Here Sayer plays a character much like he has elsewhere with Mischief, but sometimes familiarity is all an audience needs and they lap it up, and you can tell often that there are many Mischief fans in the crowd by their reactions (I confess here that I am one of them).

Presentation and delivery is key with this show and the speed of the piece is remarkable, rarely getting bogged down in any trick segment, or describing them as they really are, sketches, and the only time the pace drops in with the interaction with the audience where it becomes sometimes more chatty. However, because of the skill of Lewis and Sayer, the deftness with which they handle these audience moments never bores, in fact sometimes this mines some of the funniest aspects of the show.

Also, for anyone fearful of the mere prospect of audience participation, you need not be with the The Mind Mangler as this is so well handled to never deliberately embarrass or frighten audience members. The only time that you could consider it embarrassing to someone from the audience, is through the self-infliction of filling in a secret card offered during the filtering in of the audience. There is no compunction to do so, and if you do, you only have yourself to blame (or, admittedly your mother in the performance I saw).

While many could say The Mind Mangler is a one-trick pony of failed mind-reading, the depth of characterisation, story-telling and just simply great presentation and stage presence makes Lewis and Sayer a tragical evening of entertainment like no other and should be top of your theatre shopping list if this travels near to you on its tour to Liverpool and Bath.

With the power of my Small Mind, I compel you to see The Mind Mangler.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Performance reviewed: Monday 3rd June 2024 at the Milton Keynes Theatre.

The Mind Mangler runs at Milton Keynes Theatre until Wednesday 5th June 2024 before continuing its tour.

For further details about Mischief Theatre see their website at mischiefcomedy.com

For further details about Milton Keynes see their website at http://www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre/

Production photos: Craig Sugden

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