Mind Mangler: A Night of Tragic Illusion Tickets

By: Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields
Director: Hannah Sharkey
Cast list: Henry Lewis and Jonathan Sayer
Design: Sara Perks
Costumes: Roberto Surace
Lighting: David Howe
Sound: Helen Skiera
Other info: Video design by Gillian Tan, magic consultation by Ben Hart, original music by Steve Brown

Mind Mangler premiered at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, and a 2023 U.K. tour followed. Lewis and Sayer also starred in those productions of the show, which they co-wrote with fellow Mischief co-founder Henry Shields.

The trio formed Mischief Theatre Company while students at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. They also created the global hits The Play That Goes Wrong and Peter Pan Goes Wrong. In fact, all three shows hit New York in 2023: Peter Pan Goes Wrong had a five-month Broadway premiere in the spring, and The Play That Goes Wrong has played in New York since 2019. It currently runs at New World Stages, which also hosts Mind Mangler off Broadway.

Mischief specializes in over-the-top, slapstick comedies about theatrical mishaps. The Play That Goes Wrong and Peter Pan Goes Wrong both feature an amateur theatre troupe putting on a production that, well, goes wrong in every way imaginable.

What to watch for

• Abracadabra! Lewis, Sayer, and Shields co-created the character of the Mind Mangler with two legendary magicians: Penn and Teller.
• The character first appeared in Mischief's play Magic Goes Wrong (which, with Penn and Teller's help, included actual stage magic) before he got his own show.
• The Off-Broadway show has a magic consultant, Ben Hart, to help craft some cool illusions for the audience. The Mind Mangler might not be good at mind-reading, but anything can happen...
• The Mischief co-founders regularly star in their own shows. Sayer, Lewis, and Shields all led the original London and Broadway casts of The Play That Goes Wrong and Peter Pan Goes Wrong, as well as Magic Goes Wrong in London.
• Mind Mangler isn't part of Mischief's official Goes Wrong series, but you can still expect plenty of hilarious mishaps.