Derren Brown - Miracle 
The Alhambra Theatre

Last time I reviewed Derren Brown, I hit a snag early on.

He opened Enigma, his 2009/10 show, by asking journalists not to write about the what had happened - making it particularly difficult to explain the sheer brilliance of how every little detail, no matter how seemingly irrelevant, was vital to the big reveal finale.

Giant pennies were dropping all over the place as Derren effortlessly tied together all the performance's loose threads into one neat, but inexplicable, bow.

Even if you knew what was coming, it wouldn't have taken away from the unfathomable and completely absorbing 'how the heck..?!' nature of the evening - but it's still best not to spoil the surprise....

Which, inconveniently, is what he asked again this time - making this piece tricky to write too.

If you've seen any of Derren's shows, live or on television, you'll have some idea of what to expect - the humour, the audience involvement, the odd pretence that something has gone wrong, the bait and switch followed by layers of reveals...and then another big reveal just when you think he's done.

He has the audience with him the whole way and delights in its reaction as people fall into line with his grand plan, gasping, looking astounded and asking, 'but how did he know that?!'

In Miracle, Derren commands the stage and uses a very clever set design to emphasise and exemplify his ideas.

He again sets out to expose fakery and scams, but does such a good job of showing how convincing the illusion can be, that you can end up believing in the very thing you're meant to be questioning.

When you do think you've figured out just a tiny fragment of what's happened, you realise you've actually only half-solved even that teeny piece of the jigsaw. Even if Derren has pulled off your convoluted theory, that would be an impressive feat in itself.

Miracle is Derren's seventh show since 2003. Since then he has toured every year, won two Olivier Awards and been watched by an estimated audience of 1.5 million people.

Perhaps his insistence that the audience doesn't give anything away is for the best, in truth, you have to see him for yourself to appreciate his ingenuity.

And besides, no matter how hard you try to explain what happened, no matter how many sentences you start with, 'and then what he did was...' or 'and then right...' you can't do his performance justice.

  • Derren Brown - Miracle runs until Saturday, May 16 at The Alhambra. Visit www.bradford-theatres.co.uk or call 01274 432000 for tickets.