Derren Brown – confidence trickster, showman or just one of God’s ‘chosen ones’? Whatever your poison one thing’s for sure, you’ll leave Bradford’s Alhambra Theatre this week scratching your head and wondering ‘how on earth………?’

But, if you are in any doubt as to whether you have just seen a gifted being from Heaven above, then simply look at the title of the show: Derren Brown Only Human.

That may be the case but TVs biggest showman since PT Barnum has a line-up of mind-blowing mentalism that is simply breathtaking.

And, apart from being brilliant at his craft, diminutive Brown has taken the art of hypnotism, suggestion and psychological illusion to a whole new level, creating huge visual concepts around an artform which, at its simplest level, helps some people to stop smoking!

He and his concept team are superbly clever.

It was Mrs H’s first time seeing him and, as a Filipina who had never watched any of Brown’s TV shows, let alone a live performance, she was blown away and quietly stunned as this stranger before her somehow pulled people from the audience, ‘put them under’ and did his stuff.

At first you think it is going to be a series of ‘suggestion’ concepts that lead people down a certain path to give what appear to be pre-ordained answers but, without any spoilers, he then takes it up a gear with those famous words: “….and sleep.”

And in seconds his unsuspecting audience members are in another place. Seeing is believing.

Brown is a clever man who began life as a close-up magician but, these days, he’s up there with the top boys and will be remembered as a trail blazer by his future successors and as the man who takes your breath away by his fans.

The Alhambra plays host to many types of entertainment from opera to musicals, but rarely is there a single ‘performer’ on stage who not only commands his audience for more than two hours, but sells out one of the biggest theatres in the UK for six performances straight.

Now that’s what I call magic!

Derren Brown – Only Human
Alhambra, Bradford
Until Saturday