What is Derren Brown's Miracle Stage Show really about?

As usual, Derren Brown is asking his stage show audiences to keep the contents of the show a secret, so as to avoid ruining the show for future guests. I am always amazed at how thoroughly online commentators (even journalists) comply with this request. Surely some mind control must be involved?

You can read one of the more forthright accounts at YPlanApp.com. The author explains that the show's second half involves faith-healing, which seems to be Derren imitating the techniques of bogus religious faith-healers. If that is what the show is about, it is a pretty good idea, and consistent with DB's prior work.

Derren Brown tells Miracle visitors to Dance

For a firsthand account (without spoilers) of what it is like to attend Miracle, check out this post on OctobersGirlBlog. She quotes Derren's introductory remarks as:

“We are so busy setting goals for ourselves that we forget that life is like a piece of music, and we are supposed to be dancing.”

Colin Fry almost took Sally Morgan role in The Secret of Luck (Derren Brown's The Experiments)

In an episode of The Experiments, Derren Brown set up a fake "lucky dog" statue in an English village that was supposed to make the locals lucky. As you would expect, many of the local residents immediately began relying on the dog for luck (in gambling, etc.) -- even though it was all a ruse to show that luck is just a matter of belief.

Sally Morgan, a self-proclaimed psychic, came on the show and claimed to feel the energy of the dog. Now, we know, though, that Morgan was only the 2nd pick for the show. Originally, the psychic was supposed to be Colin Fry.

A post on Bad Psychics quotes Fry explaining that when asked about the lucky dog by Channel 4 personnel:

I burst out laughing and said if there was any luck it was only because people had convinced themselves their good fortune was down to the bronze dog and it was bullshit, but harmless if it gave them the feel good factor, the researcher said she was surprised and I had not given her the respounce she had expected. ... and if they wanted someone they should call Sally Morgan, which is what they did.

A break from the stage for Derren Brown?

You might have noticed that Derren took a break from his television work in 2015 -- a rare year in which he did not have a new televised special. Fortunately, that will end this month (Jan. 2016) with "The Push."

Derren has announced now, though, that he will take a break from his stage work after the 2016 run of Miracle. He says he is due a break after 14 years on stage. In the past, he has noted that stage work is his favorite, and audiences seem to prefer it as well -- so you might want to hurry to see Miracle before he takes an indefinite leave.

Derren Brown's Secret Underground Lair

If I ever build a house, I hope to include a secret passageway of some sort. Derren Brown is way ahead of me, because his home includes a secret chamber. As reported at FHM.com:

“Over there, pull that lamp…” [Derren] points to a wall-mounted light beside a big bookshelf. We do as we’re told and the bookshelf swings open to reveal a secret staircase to an underground lair. “That’s my steam room,” he says at the bottom of the stairs before turning along a short corridor, “and this is my cinema. Nice, isn’t it?” Its red velvet carpet, six large seats and 10ft screen speak for themselves.

The rest of the article is worth reading, too, but of course nothing is more impressive than a secret underground lair.

There's another famous Brown with a secret passageway -- Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown has built some secrets into his house, too, as have a few other notable people: Secret Passageways.

VIDEO FLASHBACK: Creepy Episode where Derren Brown turns man into Puppet

Remember the creepy episode of Trick-or-Treat where Derren convinced a man that he was a puppet?

Relive it now, thanks to DB's YouTube channel:

What is Derren Brown's "The Push" (aka "Pushed to the Edge") about?

Derren Brown will be back on Channel 4 this month (January 2016) with a brand new special called "The Push" (later changed to "Pushed to the Edge").

The show is about how people comply with authority. The topic sounds like a tribute to Derren's fascination with the Milgram prison experiment. Given the title, I am speculating that volunteers are encouraged by authority figures to harm other humans by either (a) pushing those humans (e.g., onto railroad tracks) or (b) pushing a button that hurts those humans (a la the Milgram experiment). I am guessing the volunteers will comply.

But Derren always finds a way to surprise us. I can't wait to find out what The Push is all about!

Derren was quoted saying: “The world of social compliance is a deeply fascinating one and hopefully we will take the viewer on a journey that will be disturbing and entertaining in equal measure."