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This story is a lot more unhinged than the ones we’re used to… Mind Mangler Review

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 O nce again, I find myself reviewing another Mischief show (fun fact: this is the first time I have ever spelled Mischief correctly first time).   This time, we’re talking about Mind Mangler: Member of the Tragic Circle , a spinoff show featuring two characters from Magic Goes Wrong . These are the two characters you’ve seen in all the previews, such as Comic Relief, which actually went wrong!   Unlike my other reviews, this one will only contain spoilers for the bits unique to the show I saw, not the plot in general (although it is mostly just a series of tricks, there is an underlying story happening between the two main characters). This way, you can watch the show without it being spoiled for you.   The characters included are The Mind Mangler AKA Keith (Henry Lewis), and his stooge Clive AKA Brian AKA Stephen AKA Steven AKA Mike AKA Mickey AKA Audience Member AKA Different Audience Member AKA The Stooge (Jonathan Sayer)   Magical Glossary   Stooge (n.) - someo
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mind Mangler notes

Safe  Secrets  Pencil  Lockbox  Penn and Teller? Senses IT, school teacher, indiors, Greek philosophy  No ridiculous job  Audience Member  Bonjour  Different Audience Member  Secrets: hat; druid  Hypnosis  Pleasing Fungus beetle Haagen Daas Rubik's cubes One person solved  3 not done  All birthdays 
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An Election is Coming up!

 DO NOT CLICK AWAY UNTIL YOU READ THE FOURTH SENTENCE OF THIS BLOGPOST I know I have said in the past that I do not broadcast my political opinions but... There is one important thing you should do, no matter what your political views are. YOU. SHOULD. VOTE. In case you can't be bothered to read the rest of the post (and no one would blame you): Register here  (You only need to do this once; you will be automatically enrolled for future elections) Apply for a postal vote Apply for a proxy vote Check if you've already registered The UK is having a General Election on 4 July 2024 and if you want to vote in person you need to register by 18 June. You need to sign up for a postal vote (useful if your polling station is hard to find/difficult to get to) by June 19, or apply to vote via proxy by June 26. If you are over 18 (interestingly, your 18th birthday can be as late as July 4) and a UK citizen (or an Irish, EU or Commonwealth citizen with a permanent UK address), you are entitl
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Scotch? - Houdini's Greatest Escape review

 DISCLAIMER: IN ORDER TO TRY TO GET THE REVIEW OUT BEFORE THE SHOW LEFT THE THEATRE, THIS BIT (UNTIL I MENTION) WAS WRITTEN BEFORE I SAW THE SHOW. IF I DIDN’T MANAGE I APOLOGISE, BUT YOU SHOULD STILL BE ABLE TO SEE THE SHOW AS THE LICHFIELD RUN WAS NEAR THE START OF THE TOUR. As you may already know, I have already seen two plays by New Old Friends,  Crimes on Centre Court and A Christmas Getaway , both at The Lichfield Garrick. Of these, I only wrote a review of ACG (Acronyms FTW!) I also mentioned my intention to see NOF’s newest play, Houdini’s Greatest Escape . This review is of HGE , and I was lucky enough to see a version of the show with a Q&A after the performance. I HAVE NOW SEEN THE SHOW Longtime readers (hello all one of you) will know that my reviews often include quite a lot of spoilers, but it has occurred to me that this post might get a little more engagement, so there are two versions of this review – This one, which contains some minor spoilers, but all out of c
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I don't know WHY it is, BUT IT IS! -Peter Pan Goes Wrong review

 This might be the fastest review I’ve ever written. We saw Peter Pan Goes Wrong (henceforth PPGW ) at the Birmingham Alexandra Theatre (I probably won’t bring it up again, but henceforth known as The Alex). All of our party (and probably most of the audience) had seen the TV version (link goes to iPlayer; I think that it is available worldwide paid on Amazon Prime) so we were familiar with a lot of the material. Therefore, this review will be diving into the bits removed from the televised version. Firstly, did you know that before it was a book or a movie, the original Peter Pan was a play? PPGW is almost verbatim that play, with additional (mostly physical) jokes added. For example (this was in the televised version as well), the narrator has an opening monologue, which Chris (as Mr Darling) keeps interrupting too early. Before we go on, some housekeeping: I own a copy of the script and currently have it open to remind me of bits I’ve forgotten. I had read it before and th
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Why does no one ever talk about this?

Here's one that's a bit out of nowhere. I want to talk about the plot of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist , and the musical adaptation Oliver! : This is the plot (cut down from the musical and missing a lot more of the book than you'd think): Oliver is a boy who lives and grew up in a workhouse in (fictional) Mudfog; he asks for more gruel one mealtime and as punishment, the beadle, Mr Bumble (workhouse overseer), sells him to an undertaker (Mr Sowerberry); Oliver gets in a fight with the undertaker's other apprentice; Oliver runs away 70 miles to London; he is adopted by a group of pickpocket children; on his first outing as a pickpocket he is caught by his victim Mr Brownlow and brought before a magistrate; at his trial, Brownlow intercedes for him and takes him home; Brownlow realises Oliver is his grandson; the gang kidnap Oliver to stop him revealing their existence; Nancy, one of the gang, tries to take him back but her husband Bill Sikes kills her; Mr Brownlow a
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