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	Marlborough Theatre (venue website) Cabaret 25-27 May, 7:15pm-8:15pm
Suitable for age 15+ only.  Warning: Contains strong language.  2-for-1 tickets for Friends of the Fringe members.

Amiable mind-reader Doug Segal certainly influenced people at last year’s Fringe – selling out his debut run, and scoring a clutch of wide-eyed reviews from some thoroughly bamboozled new fans.  Segal’s style of mental magic invites comparison to Derren Brown, but he’s lost the goatee beard and portentous self-importance; instead, expect chipper patter, and a warming dose of happy-go-lucky charm.

FringeGuru’s Richard Stamp dropped in on last year’s show, and enjoyed both the easy humour and the intelligent chicanery on display.  Joshing kindly with his willing volunteers, Segal plucked words from sealed envelopes and pictures from unseen pages – and even, in his signature trick, helped some of his audience read each other’s minds.  According to Segal, it’s all made possible by his keen eye for body language, and his former career in the dark arts of advertising.  Using trigger words and subliminal images, he claims, he can lead us along without our knowing it… heading straight to the answers he’d always planned.

That’s not quite the whole story, of course – but a showman as skilful as Segal is entitled to a little overstatement of his own powers.  Despite the changed title, this is basically the same show as last year, so if you caught it in 2011 you might want to sit it out this time round.  Otherwise, we think you’ll leave with a smile on your face – and, if you pay attention, at least one trick you can try on your friends.

Read our full review of the earlier version of this show at the Brighton Fringe in 2011.