A world-renowned illusionist will be reading minds at the Opera House tonight

• Scott Silven’s The Lost Things opens at the Sydney Opera House tonight.
• The show will explore Silven’s mind-bending magic of mentalism, set in the Scottish forest that inspired The Lost Things.
• Expect mind-reading, storytelling and illusions.

World-renowned illusionist Scott Silven is debuting his brand-new show, The Lost Things, at the Sydney Opera House tonight, for its world premiere season. The show promises to bring an unforgettable evening of storytelling, illusion and mind-reading that’s guaranteed to leave audiences spellbound.

Forget everything you thought you knew about magic — Silven is here to bend your idea of reality and take even the most sceptical on a crazy, unforgettable journey.

Silven states that he’s not trying to convince you that mind-reading is real; however, his shows allow you to ask “why you choose to think about the things that you do and how you can change that, if you want to”.

He continued to say, “It’s a little lighter than a therapy session, but it’s a little more philosophical and deeper than card tricks and traditional illusion.”

Giving Aussies a taster of his mind-reading and illusionist skills, Silven appeared on the Project on June 4, where he asked guests to focus on something that would take them back to their childhood. He then told them to state the age that they were when they had this object, and got one of the presenters to write them down.

After writing down these numbers, he asked one presenter what she had been focusing on. She said that she was thinking about the lamington cake she desperately wanted on her seventh birthday.

Silven then gave the panellist next to him a box that had sat there the whole time, which contained a lamington with a lottery ticket inside it, with every age the presenter had told him featured across the top. You can watch the video here.

Each presenter looked flabbergasted at this; however, sceptics in the comments were unsure. The only way to find out is by going to Silven’s show at the Opera House and experiencing his mind-reading and illusions first-hand.

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The show

When asked what inspired the show, Silven told The Project, “It was getting lost as a kid.”

“I got lost in a forest near my home in Scotland, and instead of being scared, I had this sense of calm and a weird sense of wonder— anything was possible. So I thought, can I take the audience to that sense of space? Where, instead of getting lost being a bad thing, it can be something powerful, leaning into the mystery and the unknown in your life. So we have literally built that Scottish forest onstage at the Opera House”.

Although there isn’t much detail on what will go on at The Lost Things, the audience should expect an intimate evening of mind-reading, illusion and storytelling, with opportunities for audience participation.

Silven says: “This show is about the unknown – getting lost isn’t the end of this story, it’s the beginning. We take that moment where the world cracks open, when the map no longer makes sense, and suddenly, anything is possible.”

Other influences that helped Silven craft his show include the children’s book, Where The Wild Things Are, the Stranger Things series, and Steven Spielberg’s work, including E.T. That story of children overcoming huge challenges, in dreamlike, supernatural worlds where loss, bravery and the beauty of wonder stand at the forefront.

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When asked how he wanted the audience to feel when they left the show, Silven told the Opera House:

“The Lost Things isn’t about flashy tricks or smoke and mirrors. It’s about you.

It’s a shared experience. A journey into memory, mystery, and connection. It’s about getting a little lost – on purpose – and realising that’s where the real magic happens.

It’s a reminder that life isn’t always about having all the answers. Sometimes, it’s about leaning into the questions.

And if people walk out of the theatre feeling more connected to themselves, to the people around them, to the stories that shape their lives, then I know I’ve done my job.”

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Scott Silven: The Lost Things

Where: The Playhouse, Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney NSW 2000.
When: Friday, June 13, 7pm, Saturday, June 14, 3pm & 7pm, Sunday, June 15, 2pm & 6pm.
Price: Starts at $79.90.