If you’ve seen their Play That Goes Wrong, now London’s longest running comedy, you probably get Mischief Theatre’s shtick – invent a banal show in some genre, give it a cast of overconfident players, then have everything farcically fall apart. It’s clearly a crowd-pleasing formula, and Mind Mangler is no exception, though at this point one wonders just how much new ground there is to tread. In this case, Mischief co-founder Henry Lewis is reprising a character from 2019 entry Magic Goes Wrong, with several gags carrying over as well.
This isn’t really a magic show (except when it is), but it’s not quite a scripted comedy either. Lewis and co-star Jonathan Sayer are at their best when doing crowd work in their personas of oversensitive mentalist and “Audience Member,” respectively. Inoffensive (if you don’t mind profanity) and even somewhat saccharine, Mind Mangler is not pioneering theatre but it still earns plenty of genuine laughs – and that’s no trick.
Rating: 3/5
The Best Deal: Discounted seats on TodayTix through 28 April, then on UK tour.
Twopenny Theatre 
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