Nelson Mandela Bay act wows ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ hosts

Port Elizabeth performers Brendon Peel and Li Lau have pulled off a nail-biting performance on the hit TV show Britain’s Got Talent.

The pair said after their crossbow escape stunt went wrong at the National Arts Festival in 2019, they swore never to perform the act again.

However, when the frightening act attracted the interest of Britain’s Got Talent (BGT), the two said they would do it one more time as a final send-off to that particular escape.

A world-record holder and danger daredevil escapologist, Lau said the crossbow routine was by far the most dangerous act he had ever performed, adding that doing it one last time in Britain had been well worth it.

“I've had injuries before but this was definitely the most serious injury I’ve ever received,” he said, referring to   their disastrous performance at the National Arts Festival.

The 38-year-old said the crossbow arrow had pierced his head and that he had walked away with five stitches.

“It was a timing issue — the arrow pierced my head while I was ducking,” he said.

Peel and Lau  said they recorded the act for Britain’s Got Talent in early January — this time without incident —  and had been aching to share the news of their success ever since.

An award-winning mentalist and magician, Peel said the show’s  producers had asked them to send in an audition video in 2019  and they were fortunate to have been selected for participation from thousands of other entries.

“The performance was pre-recorded in January with BGT releasing our performance on their social media pages last week,” Peel said.

Their final act had judge Simon Cowell gobsmacked and the audience ducking under their seats with one eye open.

The pair successfully pulled off their crossbow escape performance in about 2½ minutes, receiving a standing ovation afterwards.

“Our performance at the National Arts Festival was a blessing in disguise because it came with a huge door of opportunity.

“Already UK publications are saying what we did on the BGT stage was one of the most dangerous acts ever to be seen on BGT,” Peel said.

Lau said  their performance was shared on YouTube on April 14, and since then they had received calls from all over the world.

“We can’t say much at this point, but things look very promising.

“People are calling us interested in potentially working on future projects locally and internationally,” Lau said.

The two  have been performing together since 2018, and say they will continue to create more dangerous and mentally challenging acts.

“Even though we may not do this crossbow act again, we do have some other dangerous acts and escapes that we have worked on and are continuing to work on.

“It is really nice to have this collaboration where I focus mainly on escapes and things,  and Brendon brings in his mentalism and magic,” Lau said.