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Hypnotism is a popular genre at the Fringe. Fraser Penman, hypnotist of Penman—The Imaginator—YOU is so popular that he even managed to pull a decent crowd even for the reviewed show at which he was playing against Oasis. With his playful style, he ensures that the entire audience enjoys the show, whether they’re onstage with him or watching from the safe seats.

The first hurdle of a hypnotism show is tempting volunteers to come try to be hypnotized. As Penman makes clear, hypnotism requires consent from the hypnotized. Anyone considering buying a ticket who is unfamiliar with hypnotism can be reassured that they won’t be forced to do anything against their will, even if they choose to sit onstage they have to be willing in order for Penman to hypnotize them. With these reassurances Penman has no problem getting people onstage, even slightly overfilling his allocated spaces in order to ensure that no one who wants the experience misses out.

Penman’s hypnosis process has a decent success rate at the reviewed show, and Penman is kind in escorting those who don’t respond in time back to their seats. He is a responsible performer and ensures that participants are fully recovered from any hypnotic effects before they leave the stage. Non-participants can enjoy the initial hypnosis as well, Penman has a great voice for it and listening to him go through the steps is a pleasant experience.

The prompts that Penman gives his hypnotized participants are definitely silly but not anything especially embarrassing. Hypnotism is by its nature a tricky business and at the reviewed show a good few participants seemed to “wake up” from their hypnotic state at various points, but they played along with Penman’s prompts until he could get to them for either re-hypnosis or dismissal back to their seats. He comes across well onstage, those who joined him evidently wanted to see his show be a success.

Penman—The Imaginator—YOU is a great time both for those wanting to be hypnotized and those who want to witness others having that experience. Penman is a practiced performer who has put together a personalized, stylish show. Fans of hypnotism would do well to attend.