Matt Hale, a name synonymous with fast-paced hypnosis hilarity, is back in the hood! This year’s hypno-show is a throwback to the hedonistic days of the 1990s, complete with Hale bounding on stage in a striped neon shell-suit and whipping  the audience into a frenzy of sing-along anthems. Think Vengaboys crossed with a fair sprinkling of Oasis and a dash of the Macarena. It’s frenetic, feel-good fun, and an hour of almost constant laughter.

Notable is Hale’s clarity on both the process of hypnosis and the care he takes therein. This is the power of suggestion par excellence and it’s fascinating to watch. The candidates are all volunteers and some are more suggestible than others, hence there is a fair amount of initial organisation and musical chairs as the cohort of hypnotees is recruited. Finally, the performers are in place and the action is carefully and cleverly choreographed, so that the most suggestible become the stars of the show. Add in a cracking soundtrack and you have the recipe for a highly energetic, noisy, and above all, hilarious hour.

Yes, the hypnotised do end up doing some silly things. Without giving away too many spoilers, there’s a fair amount of musical instrument playing, dancing, and seemingly spontaneous action at the announcement of certain trigger words. It’s all light-hearted fun and the fact that there is a whole hypnotised group on stage, means that no one is particularly singled out.

Hale, works extremely hard throughout, often talking nineteen to the dozen and admittedly at a pace that some non-native speakers might find hard to follow. However, this is a minor point and really isn’t a distraction.  The fact that the show appears to be highly spontaneous whereas in fact it’s carefully and expertly crafted, is testament to Hale’s outstanding ability as both hypnotist and consummate entertainer.

‘Funbelievable! 90s Rewind‘ is at Gilded Balloon Patter House – Big Yin until Mon 25 Aug 2025 at 17:00