Mind Mangler started life as one of several acts in Mischief’s Magic Goes Wrong, before spinning off into a one-hour Edinburgh show. Now it runs in the West End as a two-act show that is more comedy than magic, and not entirely sure of what it is.

Anyone who has seen and enjoyed a Mischief show will be neither surprised nor disappointed — it’s exactly what you’d expect it to be. Henry Lewis plays the overconfident Mind Mangler, and Jonathan Sayer his hapless Stooge. The standard ‘goes wrong’ formula has been applied, with most of the humour deriving from an incompetent performer or grudge-bearing technician. But it’s an unbalanced show: the first act is a fast-paced, laugh-a-minute whirlwind with very little real magic (except for a revelation relying on an actual stooge). Act Two features more magic, but is unable to sustain the energy, pace, and running gags established earlier in the show.

The Mind Mangler is advertised as a “Member of the TRAGIC Circle”, and that joke is indicative of a large swathe of the show’s humour: it sounds funny, but it’s not clever and it doesn’t make a lot of sense. The show does make an attempt to address this particular joke, but it’s not terribly convincing; and there are multiple others, including a slideshow of visual gags, that aren’t funny enough to justify their superficiality. Sayer’s Stooge being constantly picked is the same — it’s funny, but it’s illogical that the pair would genuinely believe they might get away with it. The programme notes that in Edinburgh, Sayer wore a series of different moustaches, which sounds like a more convincing, albeit still tenuous, way to sell it.

Thankfully, not every joke is like this, and there are genuinely surprising, innovative and witty moments, largely involving impressive set pieces (Sara Perks; Ben Hart). But it is first and foremost a comedy show, and somebody expecting a night of magic would be underwhelmed. Many of the segments rely on a bait-and-switch pattern of substituting the magical reveal for a punchline. Two segments in particular, one in each act, stray into the realm of children’s magician, stretching out the ‘mindreading’ seemingly to fill time. The magic is most successful in the handful of moments where the punchline precedes a magical reveal, rather than supplanting it. And while the comedy hinges on The Mind Mangler’s incompetence, there is often no explanation for when the magic goes right. There is a playing card prediction at the top of Act Two which makes no narrative sense, and the finale flouts the show’s premise entirely, ignoring narrative logic in order to pack a magical punch.

None of this is to say it’s not an enjoyable evening — Lewis is an incredibly funny performer, and both he and Sayer are witty improvisers. There are many funny moments in their writing (with Henry Shields), and the media elements (Gillian Tan; Steve Brown) are fantastic. This is light entertainment, and doesn’t go much deeper than that. Sayer is endearing as the overly-performative ‘Stooge’, and provides a contrast to Lewis’ accomplished naturalism, but his declamatory style loses its effect in the moments of attempted pathos in Act Two. There are no character or narrative arcs, or any real stakes, so the attempt at an emotional core is jarring and unsuccessful. But it’s also unnecessary — much like seeing a one-liner comedian, this is an evening of jokes strung together with some magic tricks thrown in. If you’re expecting to laugh (and you should), you’ll enjoy yourself.

Playing at the Apollo Theatre 14 March – 28 April 2024.