The cast of Unbelievable have a few tricks up their sleeve
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Sian McBride
There’s magic brewing in a converted distillery unit in East London, as the cast of Derren Brown presents Unbelievable practice their mind-bending moves ahead of the show’s West End debut.
The cast who will be taking on Derren’s tricks may not be classically trained magicians, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t got a trick or two up their sleeve ‘I used to bring the small red sponges you get in magic sets everywhere I went. When I worked in a bar and someone ordered a Vodka Red Bull, I’d pour the spirit and then place the red ball on the bar’ joked Rhys Shone ‘there’s always room for that trick.’ Samuel Creasey was a fan of the red sponge balls when he was younger too ‘I had a magic set when I was six and I was completely obsessed.’ However, if you’re looking to see these cheap sponge balls in action, you’ll be bitterly disappointed ‘I’m trying to convince Derren to let me put it in the show, but he won’t let me!’ Rhys jokingly complained.
Derren Brown who has written and directed the show with long-time collaborators Andy Nyman (Ghost Stories) and Andrew O’Connor (Magicians) has pushed the boundaries in this magical musical production ‘We’re asking them to do the most technically difficult things and they don’t know how hard it is because they have no reference. If we gave it to a magician they would just be like ‘I can’t do that’ but they think it’s doable, so they go ‘Alright I’ll learn that’ not knowing how technically difficult it is.’ Andrew commented.
Does Derren enjoy sitting behind the director's table and leaving the tricks to this talented young cast? ‘I’ve been having terrible imposter syndrome as I’m sat next to two men who I’m used to directing me, which makes it hard to slot into that role and be that third person because I’m used to having a particular role on stage. It’s been a learning curve finding me way in it, but I’ve enjoyed it. Not that I want to stop performing, touring is one of my favourite things in the world to do'.
In fact, Derren loves touring so much that he was actually on a 14-month-long tour when he was first started devising the show with Andrew and Andy. So how does he fit it all in? ‘We knew we didn’t have enough time so Derren invented Covid’ Andy laughed, ‘I done my best with Brexit!’ joked Derren.
We caught up with cast members Laura Andresen Guimarães, Samuel, and Rhys to give us as much information as they could about the show six years in the making.
How different was learning magic tricks compared to learning a piece of choreography for a show?
Laura: The main difference was that there was no prerequisite to be good at it! It was really fun, there was no ego needed. No expectation to be good when you first go into the rehearsal room, so I could just throw everything at it. I really enjoyed having that fearlessness
Have you tried out any of the magic tricks out at parties or with friends?
Samuel: I’m obsessed! There’s a trick we learned at the audition that I have performed every single day, to my mum, my flatmates, literally everyone. It’s so much fun!
So, are you officially in the magic circle now?
Samuel: (laughs) That would be a dream come true! Give it a few years and maybe we’ll all be in there.
Can you tell us a bit about the show?
Laura: It’s a really exciting fusion of music, magicians, actors. It’s written by Derren Brown and his team, so it’s got his unique voice and view on everything. It’s really exciting, and we don’t think it’s been done before. We can’t wait to share it with everyone.
Can you tell us about the character you play? Do you have individual characters, or is it more of an ensemble piece?
All: (laughing) You’ll have to wait and see!
Rhys: What we can probably say is that, like all of Derren’s shows, and why Derren is so brilliant is that his shows are never just ‘look at me’ this is magic, there is meaning behind it, and truth and reality into his shows, and there’s definitely some of that. I think that’s about all we can say, but you’ll have to wait and see. It’s exciting, it’s going to be great.
Why should we see Unbelievable when it opens this Autumn?
Rhys: There’s this childlike wonder to magic, everyone loves to be amazed and I think that this show is really going to bring that. You’re going to come and regress back to being a child in a sweet shop for two hours, to escape from everyday hustle and bustle. It’s going to be a really fun thing to do. Come and just enjoy yourself, come and escape!
Laura: it’s a really approachable show as well, it targets lots of different audiences based on the fusion of skills that are in it. So, if you enjoy music, if you enjoy Derren, if you enjoy magic, if you’re a West End musical fan you’ll definitely love this. There’s something for everyone.
Book your Unbelievable tickets today!
Fusing the best of theatre with jaw-dropping illusions never before seen in the West End, Unbelievable will be casting a spell over audiences. Prepare for an evening of bewildering trickery, from the imagination of Derren Brown.