Not only does Chris Cox provide an hour of beguiling mind tricks, he includes the audience in the fun by hurling a jumper wearing ferret into the air and whoever catches the little critter has to help Chris with his next trick. I should stress that the ferret is a toy. Unlike Derren Brown, Chris is refreshingly nonchalant about his magic tricks, quickly highlighting the links between his show and basic psychology. The only point which slowed the show was the mini computer Chris used which felt contrived and decreased the spontaneity. This is a fun show, and I guarantee Chris’s final trick will leave you awe struck and speechless.
The Stage: He Can’t Read Minds? Review
Unlike some mentalists, Chris Cox repeatedly denies having any mystical powers, assuring us that he’s accomplishing all his mind-reading effects through a magician’s skills of misdirection, influence and body-language reading. If anything, this makes his tricks even more impressive, since they are openly the product of masterful skill and technique and if you might occasionally guess how he does it – he has a few giveaway “tells” of his own – there is still enough mystification to make for a fully entertaining hour.
And so when he guesses a card just from the holder’s giveaway twitches, or somehow knows what audience members have drawn on their sketch pads, or invites the audience to invent credits for an imaginary film, only to have them appear on a DVD trailer someone has been holding since the show’s opening, we can delight in the surprise, even as he reminds us it’s all a trick. Adding to the show’s fast-moving fun are the 22-year-old’s amiable personality and his clever comic interplay with a pre-recorded video version of himself, who is almost as good a magician as he.
Broadway Baby: Let Chris delve into your thoughts
It’s obviously easy to draw comparisons between Derren Brown when talking about Chris Cox. But whereas Brown is a bit dark and creepy, Cox delivers his material in a much more approachable manner.
If anything, Cox’s blasé kind of attack on the genre belies his obvious preparation of the show. A fair chunk of it is actually presented by a pre-recorded Chris on DVD – which requires split second timing and well rehearsed stage direction to pull off.
Using pre-recorded material is an interesting device to predict the outcome of a seemingly random set of circumstances. These events are drawn from the extensive use of audience participation in the show; and Cox has plenty of people to choose from as the Cabaret Bar is the busiest I’ve seen it.
The show consists mostly of magic tricks and “mind control”. Starting with a classic, guess-the-card routine to a far more complex prediction involving multiple audience members and DVD footage, it’s all done in a light and humorous way which clearly suits Cox’s style perfectly. If, like me, you think Derren Brown is a bit scary, then you’ll find Chris Cox a far nicer chap to spend the afternoon with.
Oh, and by the way, I have this strange compulsion to use the word “Amazing”, though I’m not totally sure why… [PS]
Metro: Interview
Another young joker in the pack is Chris Cox, Radio 1’s resident magician owes more to Derren Brown than Blaine and has taken his mind magic to new levels.
“I use psychology, NLP, prediction and performance. I call it contemporary mind-reading but to keep it fresh, I incorporate a mixture of comic techniques and multimedia resources.” Also 22, he’s been a regular fixture on Radio 1’s Colin & Edith show and makes his Edinburgh Fringe debut this summer.
“I’m a quirky, slightly awkward, geeky guy who takes the piss out of what ‘magicians’ are meant to be. You’ll laugh your head off while still being blown away,” he explains of his growing appeal.
“I tend to look to popular culture, movies, songs, theatre and TV to give me inspiration rather than any magic book, I don’t want to recycle old ideas.” Whatever tricks are up Chris Cox’s sleeve next, one thing’s for sure: you won’t find him depressed in a box for 44 days
Venue: Chris Cox – West Country Mentalist
Ex-Bristol University student Chris Cox makes a living out of not reading people’s minds. Hailed as a ‘contemporary, multimedia, mindreading magician’, he still claims that he can’t actually do the mind-reading bit. No, says Chris, a self-styled ‘mentalist’: it’s all a big act, a mix of applied psychology, magic, misdirection and showmanship. He’ll be performing at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, but you can see him first next Sunday, at a one-off warm-up gig in his home town of Backwell.
Both Bristol Uni alumni, both mind magicians… are you sick of people calling you the next Derren Brown?
I knew you were going to start with that question.
You are resident magician on R1’s Chris Moyles Show. What does that entail?
It’s like being a magic bitch! I basically provide entertainment to anyone who’s bored. It also means I get to do cool things like try out new stuff and bits of mind reading on star guests that come in, you know, people like … David Hasselhoff.
Oho! What was he like then?
A legend. The conservation ran as follows:
Me – “Urr, hi David, it’s very nice to meet you.”
Him – “Hi, I’m David Hasselhoff, you can call me The Hoff.”
So I did.
You describe yourself as a ‘mentalist’. Can you explain further?
A mentalist is the traditional magical term for a mind reader. It comes from the world mentalism, which is the traditional magical way of reading minds, and is not to be confused with the Alan Partridge “No way, you big spastic, you’re a mentalist” quote. It’s tough to describe myself; I often say a contemporary multimedia mind reader, but it ain’t too easy on the tongue, so sometimes mentalist will suffice.
What’s the UK magicians’ scene like?
There are so many magic geeks about these days, who instantly criticise any magician other than themselves, and who spend hours working things out in front of the mirror at home, but never actually entertain or work with an audience. I see myself as an entertainer who happens to do magic, not a magic geek who spends his whole time online in magic forums and never performing. That said, I do spend a load of time online – but not on magic forums….
What’s your best trick, then?
One of my favourites has me on a TV screen. A punter selects a celebrity, then finds themselves getting engrossed in talking to me on the TV. Then I tell them what celeb they’ve picked. It’s all about influencing the spectator to select the right celebrity through what I say and how I say it… it’s like pushing them down an alleyway and kicking them in the mind-bollocks. I also used to do a Russian roulette thing using knives, bare feet and stamping… but
it scared me too much, and was too… Derreny, so I stopped doing it. So,
I’ve got to ask. Can you really read minds?
No, sadly not… hence the show’s name, ‘He Can’t Read Minds?’, although the question mark causes all sorts of doubts. Most mind reading is about making the audience think they have a free choice, but actually influencing that free choice so that it matches up to a prediction that I make. The language that I use is very important. It deceives an audience and makes them suggestible. The power of words is amazing: for example, if you were to scream as loud as you can in a library, people would look at you oddly. Do it on an aeroplane, and people will join in. What you say, how you say it, and where you say it can cause all sorts of different outcomes.
And is there anything in mind reading, or is it just a load of mumbo-jumbo spouted by charlatans?
Personally, I think the latter. It’s all bollocks. I know that I could do exactly what any psychic could do, without using any psychic powers. When you see me, you’ll laugh, you’ll be amazed, I’ll tell you what you’ve drawn without seeing it, and the whole audience will blow me away by creating a hugely memorable ending. Psychotic, perhaps. Psychic? Hell, no.