REVIEW - Derren Brown delivers another masterclass - watching him live should be on everyone's bucket list!

On Tuesday, we were one of the lucky ones to be attending Derren Brown's latest show. Read what our reviewer Christa Norton thought about unforgettable night...


Derren Brown has long been a bit of a folk hero for me. In fact, my fascination with the power of suggestion and the workings of the mind has been lifelong. My brother, a member of the Magic Circle, introduced me to the world of magic pretty much before I could walk and my childhood was filled with illusions – that is when my brother wasn’t threatening to saw me in half… But the fascination has always remained with me: how the impossible can be made to feel utterly convincing with nothing more than charisma, timing and confidence.  And the sense of joy and wonder that it creates. It’s even led me into my current career in marketing, indeed marketing and magic share much of the same toolbox: psychology, perception and the power of suggestion.

And then there’s the hypnosis side, which has always carried an aura of mystery. It has long been a staple of the conspiracy-led film, starting with the incredible Manchurian Candidate and finding its way into the more recent Marvel Cinematic Universe films as well. In film and television, hypnosis has traditionally – or certainly historically - been paired with the sinister or the psychic. The idea that someone could plant a thought in your head and make you act on it is both thrilling and unsettling.

Yet hypnosis has become far more popular and indeed much more positively presented in recent years, supporting mental health, dealing with trauma, managing phobias, and of course promising weight loss. Rather than something sinister, it has instead become about understanding the incredible nature of our brains.

All of which does much to explain the enduring appeal of Derren Brown – not just for me but for millions across the globe.

Derren Brown first came to public attention in the late 1990s with Mind Control on Channel 4, which introduced audiences to his combination of stagecraft and psychological techniques. He went on to make a series of high-profile television specials that drew considerable attention, including one where he appeared to play Russian roulette live, another where he predicted the National Lottery results, and several programmes in which he persuaded members of the public to take part in elaborate staged scenarios. These projects established him as a performer who blurred the lines between magic, psychology and theatre.

Brown has always been explicit about what he does and what he does not claim, dismissing any suggestion of psychic abilities or supernatural powers (despite leaning into the theatre of this in his shows), instead describing himself as a psychological illusionist. In interviews, he talks passionately about using suggestion, misdirection and knowledge of human behaviour to create effects that look extraordinary but are, in his words, “achieved through entirely ordinary means.” He has said his aim is to demonstrate how easily people can be influenced and how assumptions can be manipulated.

So would Derren Brown’s latest show, Only Human, be a succession of illusions and manipulations or would he peel things back and show us how not to be fooled? Would there be an educational edge, or just spectacle? I must admit I wasn’t too sure what to expect.

And I was intrigued to find out just how suggestible I would be….

The answer is – pretty suggestible! Whilst I didn’t end up on stage, the show was everything I had hoped it could be. The atmosphere inside The Lowry was buzzing from the very start, people looking round at the staging, listening to the music, trying to spot subliminal messaging in every song, every piece of staging. And to be honest, Only Human is so well crafted – Brown is so completely in control throughout – that the hidden messages and influence is probably there, whether you spot them or not.

And yes, Brown offers us a masterclass in subtle – and not so subtle manipulation. There is everything from simple pen and paper illusions and large scale spectaculars, each one demonstrating the ease with which we can be manipulated. For me, what really stood out was Brown’s art as an illusionist. I have always been so focused on the psychological side of what he presented, that I had never really stopped to consider him as a magician. Yet he is brilliant. Indeed some of my favourite parts of the show were the illusions, which were not just clever, but truly magical – the sort of illusions that make you slightly nostalgic in the sense of wonder they create.

So why go? Because it is Brown himself that is the real appeal. He is deeply charismatic, yet at the same time is also unassuming: the show isn’t about showing how clever he is, more that he has something he thinks is fun and interesting and wonderful and he’d love to share it with us. Audience participation and engagement is central throughout and he engages with an easy banter that makes him incredibly likeable. But most importantly, he is an absolute artist, delivering a spectacle throughout which timing and delivery are flawless.

Derren Brown’s Only Human is not a mere string of illusions but a tightly woven night that plays with expectations and offers genuine moments of wonder. It’s enormous fun: even if you’ve seen him before, it still feels fresh and new and exciting.

In short, this is a fantastic night out, one which I am genuinely delighted to be able to recommend.

Or maybe Derren Brown just suggested that it was… In the end, is there a difference?

WE SCORE DERREN BROWN...



Derren Brown is on at Lowry until Saturday 13th September 2025.


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