“Did you come here to be hypnotised?” I ask the woman sitting next to me. She’s not sure. But the sixteen chairs lined up on the stage at Te Auaha Tapere Nui for the Hilarious Comedy Hypnosis Show suggest that some of us are going to be.

Sure enough, grand master of ceremonies for the evening Haiming Jiang gives us a deft and impressive introduction to himself and his work before issuing an invitation to a packed audience of the curious, the sceptical, and the willing. “I am looking for imaginative, goodlooking people who like fun,” he states. “Do you want to be the star of the show?” I qualify, I’m tempted, but I have a review to write!

I’m nevertheless surprised at the alacrity with which about twenty people leap from their seats and make for the stage. Jiang repeats his assurance that they will not be made to do anything they don’t want to do. Hypnosis is a method of inducing a trance or a dream-like state of deep relaxation, usually employed to treat disorders of a mainly psychological origin. That’s why Ziang calls for five minutes of silence while he creates the required state of mind in his participants.

To describe what follows for the next hour or so would be to spoil the fun for anyone intending to go to this show. Suffice it to say that in Jiang’s hands the action is contrived and controlled with friendliness, concern and caring. Clearly, none of the participants is acting against his or her will. We get to witness a series of scenarios that they give their consent to.

What mainly delights me about this ‘performance’ is the lack of inhibition shown by those hypnotised. It is as if something has loosened their inhibitions and allowed them to act in ways they wouldn’t normally. The personalities of the participants are on full display. And that has us laughing our heads off. Entertained? Vastly. Sceptical? No, these people aren’t acting. Envious? Perhaps.

Jiang concludes with a serious nod to what he’s just done: demonstrated that if you believe something enough, it will be true for you. And that means you can do anything.

I think I missed my chance. But here’s my review.

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