hypnosis

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.

MATT HALE: FUNBELIEVABLE! 90S REWIND

☆☆☆☆☆

Retro-fan hypnotist Matt Hale is back in Edinburgh, this time with Funbelievable! 90s Rewind, celebrating all things 90s. The care with which Hale balances the skill and structure of his show with leading the party is evident even before the show starts. Hale’s manager, revealed later to also be his wife, asks each group coming in to the venue how many they are, and then works with Gilded Balloon staff to get them seated to perfectly fill in every gap of the sold out room. Fringe seating at popular shows can often feel like a lawless game of speed and chance, so it’s a nice change of pace to be carefully slotted in to the right spot. Once Hale gets going, there’s no bad seat in the house.

Hale doesn’t even wait for the hypnotism to get the party started, bounding out on to the stage and getting the audience pumped up. That being said, like any reputable hypnotist, before inviting up his participants he makes sure to reassure everyone that hypnotism cannot be done against anyone’s will. This is by necessity a volunteer-only participation show, those who do not want to join in can simply stay in their seats. Hale makes sure to make his show feel like a safe place to experience hypnosis even before anyone volunteers for it.

The reviewed show was extremely busy (if not fully sold out) and Hale had no problem getting plenty of volunteers onstage. He even added an extra chair when more people wanted to come up than he had planned, ensuring that as many people as possible could experience hypnosis. Hypnotism is a tricky business, while everyone can be hypnotized there’s no one technique that will get to every single person, especially not in a stage performance. Like all hypnotists, Hale had a bit of an attrition rate, kindly escorting some of his participants back to the audience before getting in to the meat of the show. However, between Hale’s supportive pep talk and the hypnotic process itself he got great results. After the show his participants could be heard eagerly discussing their experiences, detailing how they felt both in control and unusually happy to follow Hale’s suggestions throughout the course of their time onstage.

As for those suggestions themselves, Hale follows through on his promise to not embarrass his participants. The prompts were uniformly 90s music themed, and everyone on the stage, as well as in the audience, was excited to hear each song. Hale curates a party atmosphere throughout the show. While he and the hypnotized volunteers lead the party, the entire audience gets to be involved in experiencing it.

Hale’s latest hypno-party is a 90s soundtracked success. His track record of well attended party hypnoshows has earned him a loyal following, as evidenced by a packed full Sunday show. Hale performs worldwide and his fans can be found everywhere. Take a tour of the blue mountains in Australia and you may even find Hale fans on the bus with you, so eager to recommend him that they do the detective work through their emails to make sure they get the spelling of his name right. Whether his audience volunteers to be hypnotized and help him lead the party, or whether they prefer to enjoy the party from the audience seats, everyone at Hale’s Funbelievable! 90s Rewind will have a great time.

PENMAN THE IMAGINATOR: YOU

☆☆☆

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.

ROB ELLINGER: HYPNOS

☆☆☆☆

Hypnotism is a fairly niche genre, and in Hypnos Rob Ellinger has created an even more specific niche for himself. His combination of magic with hypnotism—plus a light sprinkling of pop psychology as a stage-appropriate nod to his job as a hypnotherapist—makes for an especially unusual and memorable Fringe show.

The magic that Ellinger employs in creating his hypnotic atmosphere walks the tightrope of the surprise inherent to properly performed magic, and a relaxingly dreamlike vibe as befits a hypnotism show. If that sounds like a contradiction, that’s because it is. Ellinger manages to find that balance with a precision that’s difficult to believe unless you’ve seen it. While he may very occasionally lack that precision in the technique of the magic that he employs—perhaps a pea is momentarily revealed before its cue, or a prop transformation is not quite concealed from the edges of the audience—there is such an abundance of magic performed well that it hardly affects the overall impression of the show. The power of the effect he creates over the course of the show is, after all, perhaps the more unusual “trick” that has attracted his audience.

The heavy use of physical magic makes Hypnos exciting to watch for non-hypnotized participants. Hypnotism requires the consent of the hypnotized, and Ellinger makes that explicit immediately at the start of his show, explaining that he will allow participants to opt in before attempting to hypnotize them and will respect the wishes of those who prefer to watch. Those who do participate are treated with respect, and are asked to do nothing more difficult than the average non-hypnotized participant in any other magic show. 

Of the routines themselves, there are many highlights that are particularly well themed and cleverly executed. While the pea in the shells is a classic, often overlapping significantly with the cup and balls for larger audiences, Ellinger’s hypnotic-themed ending makes it slot neatly in to his theme. Many, like this one, are designed to work wholly in his hands for the seated audience, so no one is called upon to become part of the entertainment. When an eager audience member is invited to experience hypnotism for a card trick, Ellinger similarly crafts the ideal ending to emphasize the imaginative power of his audience. 

While Ellinger himself is a hypnotherapist, and leaves his business cards for the audience to take with them, Hypnos is not a therapy session. As he points out, no one in the audience has paid him enough for that. Most cynically, it could be seen as the flashy trailer for the more serious services that he offers. But that would do the clever craftsmanship of the show a disservice. As a work of performance art it stands up on its own as worthy of time and attention. With a wide ranging appeal to fans of magic, hypnotism, and the intersection of these art forms with psychology, it is not at all surprising that he has all but sold out his run. Hopefully this unique experience will return for future audiences. 

THE POLDARK SHOW: STAGE HYPNOTIST

☆☆☆☆

The beautiful venue choice and staging perfectly sets the scene for the style of The Poldark Show—Stage Hypnotist. The audience enters a church hall to find a velvet draped stage, and the sense of classy grandeur is a constant throughout the show. Hypnotist Poldark is clearly a master of the craft, balancing respect for his participants with showmanship and entertainment for the offstage members of the audience.

Poldark’s brand of hypnosis is notable at this Fringe for its calming, meditative qualities in a field that currently seems to favor sharp, loud noises as a methodology. The Poldark version is more pleasant on the audience ear, even providing a relaxing environment for those who did not put themselves forward to be hypnotized. No one method of hypnotism will work on everyone, but at the reviewed show Poldark had a very respectable success rate, that gave him ample supply of hypnotized individuals for his demonstrations.

There is a gently comedic element to The Poldark Show, in a respectful and family friendly way. The hypnotized participants are not asked to do anything embarrassing. His final hypnotic demonstration is less for comedic effect and more just for the wow factor. Even those who have seen a wide variety of other hypnotism shows are unlikely to have seen anything even remotely close to this. Poldark has a kind stage presence, and at the reviewed show some who did not manage to get hypnotized or were awoken from that state during the performance even played along just to try to help him out. However, ever the professional, Poldark spotted them quickly and found opportune moments to quickly ensure that they were okay and invite them to return to the rest of the audience.

The hypnotism takes the majority of the show’s run time, but Poldark does still take a moment to get the whole audience involved in a warm up imaginative exercise. It may start similar to an exercise often used in this kind of show, but once again Poldark demonstrates his unusual take on stage hypnotism—it’s actually a completely different exercise to what the audience probably anticipates.

The Poldark Show is without a doubt the place to be this Fringe for a pleasant hypnotic experience, whether as an onstage participant or a curious onlooker. Unfortunately the reviewed show was the final one of this Fringe, but Poldark will be heading out on tour, and will hopefully return to Edinburgh someday. Fans of being hypnotized or watching hypnotism are advised to look him up.

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.

HYPNOTIST MATT HALE: TOP FUN! 80S SPECTACULAR

☆☆☆☆

With the popularity of Stranger Things, eighties nostalgia is at an all-time high. However, that show itself is pretty scary. Some might prefer if it were an interactive comedy featuring pop music and led by a hypnotist, and those people are the target audience for Matt Hale’s Top Fun. With a vibe not unlike the silent disco dance party that regularly terrorizes Edinburgh city centre this time of year, but safely contained in a Fringe venue for the ethical fun seeker, Top Fun has been a regular sell out, and after experiencing it, it’s no surprise.

Hale is both a master hypnotist and the life and soul of the party he creates in every show. He has many willing volunteers at the reviewed show, and has no problem getting them hypnotized.  If the odd volunteer seems to have snapped out of the hypnotic state a bit early, they play along in their own way.  Hale has great rapport with his participants, and they clearly want the show to succeed even when the tricky business of hypnotism reveals its unpredictable nature. None of the activities he has them do are especially embarrassing; it’s a safe environment for those wanting to experience hypnotism.

Everything about the show, from the entry and exit music, to Hale’s outfit, and to all the activities performed by the hypnotized participants, is perfectly themed to the eighties. It’s impressive just how well he sticks to the theme, there’s not a single song or moment that isn’t impeccably eighties. Here in the birthplace of the Proclaimers (or about two miles from the birthplace of the Proclaimers, depending on your stance on Leith’s independence from Edinburgh) their most famous song is given the prominence that it deserves, and is well received by the audience.

Hypnotism is always a popular one at the Edinburgh Fringe, and with the on-trend eighties theme, Hale is proving especially sought after. However, as he points out, it’s not just him doing a trick, hypnotism is a give-and-take exercise, and the audience doesn’t really need to be hypnotized to have a good time and do silly things. Hypnotism may give his onstage participants permission to act a bit silly, but Hale himself gives the rest of the audience permission to be silly too. Top Fun lives up to its name, it’s truly a top fun place to be this Fringe.

ROBERT TEMPLE: THE HYPNOTIST

☆☆☆☆

Hypnotists have been noticeable primarily by their absence this Fringe.  As a genre even more dependent on touching strangers than other performers, it is understandable that many may not have felt comfortable doing shows, or confident that they could get willing participants.  Robert Temple is the exception willing to take the gamble.  In the simply titled ‘The Hypnotist’, he talks us through some of the theory behind hypnosis and, of course, gives everyone in the audience the opportunity to try out being hypnotised themselves.

Like many hypnotists, Temple devotes time in the first part of his show to discussing hypnotism in theory before demonstrating it in practice.  He describes himself as a comedy hypnotist, and this is where the majority of the comedy comes in.  Future audiences may be comforted to note that he makes fun of himself far more than any of his participants, and that if he does poke fun at his audience it will be during this first part of the show, when everyone is fully awake.

Perhaps in a bid to flatter the audience on to his stage, Temple describes hypnosis as a function of creativity.  This appears to work well for him.  At the reviewed show he was working with a relatively small audience, as many performers are at this pandemic Fringe.  Given the nature of his act he made sure to warn the audience ahead of time that volunteering to take part would require some physical touch.  Nevertheless he easily filled his ten spots on stage with eager participants looking to be hypnotised.  Once they were hypnotised, the demonstrations he encourages from them tended toward silliness rather than any kind of public embarrassment.

As is always the risk, perhaps especially in a discipline such as hypnosis, something did go wrong.  In this case, one of the participants ‘woke up’ from his hypnotised state unexpectedly early, having a knock-on effect on the others on stage.  Temple dealt with this with the apparent ease of a practiced professional, calmly switching a few things around, and of course looking after his participants to smooth their exit from his show.

For those looking to be hypnotised this Fringe, Temple may be the only option.  Luckily he’s a great option.  His style of hypnosis appears to be reasonably effective on a range of individuals.  All go in with the confidence that they will feel safe on his stage, and by the time they leave they can feel confident that their trust in him was justified.

More information on Robert Temple and his performance dates can be found here.

BEN DALI: TRANCE OF A LIFETIME

☆☆☆

One thing is clear from the title of Ben Dali’s show, Trance of a Lifetime: his amazing commitment to terrible puns.  He has, in fact, had three years of Fringe hypnotism shows with similarly pun-based titles, which he lists at the start of this show.  All of them are equally fantastic.  The actual content of his show provokes more mixed reactions.

Unlike many hypnotist shows that ease the audience into things with some mind reading, Dali heads straight into the hypnotism.  He also limits his hypnotic participants to volunteers who choose to step on to the stage at the start of the show, rather than attempting to hypnotize the entire audience.  This is a great way to ensure that his participants are fully willing—although arguably even if he had gone for the whole audience approach he would still only get willing participants, as the unwilling would fight the trance state.  It did leave him open to unsuccessfully hypnotized participants playing along for fun, and indeed several such individuals left the stage at various points in the show.

It is perhaps unimportant that several participants played along in the show for a while as Dali’s methods for demonstrating his hypnotic influence are entirely based on getting his participants to put on a spectacle for the remainder of his audience.  This often involves getting them to perform actions that are presumably so embarrassing that they would be unwilling to go through with them if not for the hypnosis.  It does at times, however, almost feel like a caricature of hypnotism at its creepiest and most manipulative.

To his credit, Dali is careful to ensure that his hypnotism is only extended to the consenting adults who have chosen to step on to his stage.  At the reviewed performance, two young girls were mimicking the participants as they entered the trance state.  Dali took the time to check on them and establish that they had definitely not fallen under his sway.

Dali’s comedic hypnotism is a specific style that, if his crowds on a Tuesday evening are anything to go by, is very popular.  He is certainly good at what he does.  It is likely that those who attend his show in the hopes of being hypnotized, or gawking at those who have been, will not be disappointed.

 

Ben Dali can be found at Liquid Rooms Annexe (Venue 276) during the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe at 22:00 from August 23-26

More information on Ben Dali and his performance dates can be found here

I CAN READ YOUR MIND

☆☆☆☆

Tomas McCabe has helpfully gone down the descriptive route in naming his Fringe show.  As his audiences descend into his basement venue, they definitely all know what to expect from McCabe in I Can Read Your Mind.  The large venue fills close to capacity, but McCabe’s warm and friendly stage presence draws in even those seated at the very back.

McCabe opens his show with a demonstration of his mind reading abilities, perfectly predicting the choices of his chosen audience member.  This allows him to quickly transition into a more practical application of mind reading, how to detect liars.  McCabe frames this as a lesson for the audience, pointing out what he is looking for as he detects successive participants’ attempted deceptions.  This lesson even comes with a test, as McCabe takes an audience poll to discover the final liar, adding a fun level of mass interaction to the show.

Another segment of the show features hypnotism, which McCabe introduces by asking all audience members who were open to being hypnotized to stand up so that he can do his best to put them in a trance.  It is comforting that he is open with his intentions and gives his audience the chance to abstain from this section, as surprise hypnotism can be alarming.  McCabe is respectful of the audience members who he does successfully hypnotize, including the one who he chooses to join him on stage to exhibit the depth of her trance.  However, McCabe’s hypnotic demonstrations are really just more mind reading.  This is not necessarily a criticism of his show, he is upfront about his specialty in its name, but it does make the hypnotism itself seem unnecessary.

I Can Read Your Mind is performed in a sizable, echoing venue, so at the performance reviewed, the audience was understandably noticeably concerned when McCabe’s microphone started cutting in and out.  McCabe dealt with this incredibly effectively, making jokes about the technical issues and ensuring that the entire audience could still hear what he was saying.  Luckily for the audience, McCabe was able to work through this complication and, when necessary, project his voice all the way to the back of the room.

I Can Read Your Mind is a worthy mind reading show, and is deservedly popular, as it manages to fill such a large venue.  McCabe’s lovely enthusiasm for getting the audience involved in every step of his mentalist tricks charms his audience and makes for an excellent and entertaining event.

 

I Can Read Your Mind can be found at Liquid Room Annexe (Venue 276) during the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe at 21:05 from August 20-26

More information on Tomas McCabe and his performance dates can be found here