"PLEASE, please, please, please, if you are here to review the show, please don't write about any of the things that go on in it... let's keep it all secret" was the on-stage request from the ever-charming master of illusion and super mind-bender Derren Brown, at his show at the Cliffs on Monday night.

From the time we walked into the auditorium, the emphasis was on keeping this show shrouded in mystery.

You were warned, far more strictly than is usually the case at the theatre, to definitely not use your phone or you would be asked to leave, and that if you left the room during the show, even for a toilet break, you would not be permitted to return to your seat.

Direct from the West End, the multi-award winning psychological magic man, is at the Southend venue until Thursday July 5, promising to "amaze, astonish and enthral audiences" with his latest smash hit show Underground.

It brings together a collection of the very best of his work, and I promise will leave even the most cynical of you jaw-dropping throughout, in front of a fabulous set reminiscent of a time gone by.

Watching Derren in action in front of a live audience, I really got a newfound respect for his sophisticated showmanship, up there on his own holding it all together, the only other people on-stage being randomly plucked audience members and a camera operator when close-ups were needed.

I felt it was largely down to this very slick, non-stop act of suave chatter and a lot of banter, which must surely misdirect the audiences attention while he manages to perform trick after trick... so I watched very carefully, keen not to be fooled... or hypnotised. However, the tricks came in such quick succession, I was soon tripping over episodes of my own bafflement, while he seemingly managed to have control over every single person there...

Visit southendtheatres.org.uk for booking.