Daniel Sinclair

DANIEL SINCLAIR: THE HYPNOTIST AND THE MIND READER

☆☆

Hypnotism is always a popular genre at the Fringe, and Daniel Sinclair’s The Hypnotist and the Mind Reader is no exception. Even a weekday show is fairly full, and he gets a good population up on stage to join him. While the hypnotism itself was patchy at the reviewed show, between those who managed to stay hypnotized, those who were willing to play along, and Sinclair working very hard, a version of the show was able to go on.

There are necessary alerts and reassurances ahead of a hypnotism show, and Sinclair’s version hits all the main points. He lets the audience know that he cannot force them to do anything they don’t want to do, hypnosis or not. Letting everyone know ahead of time that hypnosis is a mutual process is designed to get potential volunteers in the right mindset. If the people coming up onstage are ready to accept and work with Sinclair, the hypnotism process should work more efficiently.

The hypnotism process that Sinclair uses is nice and calming, even for those who don’t choose to go onstage. Sinclair even allows for everyone in the audience to participate in this from their seats if they want to, for those who would like to try to be hypnotized without being watched by everyone else. The sound that Sinclair uses is a classic hypnotism sound, difficult to describe but instantly recognizable, which is fun to hear.

At the reviewed show unfortunately the hypnotism by and large didn’t seem to take. There’s always an attrition rate with those who choose to take part in hypnotism, but rarely is it so pervasive and consistent throughout the show. Sinclair himself will be best placed to judge if this was an off day or if it’s worth adjusting his methods. To his credit, Sinclair breezed past the suggestions that just didn’t work, focusing on those where the majority of his struggling volunteers were willing to play along, and making the most of those who were able to experience hypnosis.

Every hypnotism show is different, and it’s a huge credit to Sinclair as a performer that he was able to recover the reviewed show to the extent that he did. The fact that so many of his volunteers were willing to play along with the majority of his show is perhaps a better testament to how fun his suggestions are than watching genuinely hypnotized participants undertake them.

DANIEL SINCLAIR: COMEDY HYPNOSIS SHOW

☆☆☆

Hypnotism tends to be a favorite at the Edinburgh Fringe. Whether people genuinely want to experience hypnosis, want an excuse to be silly, or doubt the reality of hypnosis and come looking for proof, it always gets a large crowd. Daniel Sinclair’s lunchtime Comedy Hypnosis Show at the very central Voodoo Rooms is no exception. The focus is on those looking for direct experience, but Sinclair caters to all classes of audience in his show.

For the ones looking for fun, Sinclair starts his show with the audience being asked to repeat a pledge to have fun and be silly. This is followed up with the audience reshuffling and then being asked to physically interact with each other, splitting up existing groups and making friends of strangers. Hypnotism is not an exact science and no one hypnotist’s stage methods will work on the entire audience, but Sinclair ensures that everyone has a chance to be a bit silly at his show, regardless of their susceptibility to his methods.

The hypnotism portion is of course the primary part of the show. Sinclair places emphasis on allowing everyone who expresses interest to have the opportunity to try to be hypnotized, filling the stage and front row with the keenest for the most focused experience, and encouraging those who don’t manage to get one of these seats to get involved too from wherever they are. A fair proportion of those who take part experience at least some level of hypnosis—clearly his methods are suitable for purpose.

Sinclair acknowledges that there will be skeptics in his audience. Once he has his best hypnotized participants, he shows off the features of their state to prove the veracity of his claims. This is not a big portion of the show, and the focus is always on giving the hypnotized folks the best experience. However it is nice to see Sinclair acknowledging and interacting with all the segments of his audience.

In a popular genre with relatively few performers, hypnotism shows in Edinburgh will undoubtedly all be busy, and even in that environment Sinclair does his best to get as many people as possible involved. Everyone who finds themselves in Sinclair’s audience will find themselves entertained, regardless of their view of hypnotism prior to seeing his show.