@ Summerhall, Edinburgh, on Tue 30 Jun 2015
Professor Richard Wiseman is something of a fixture on the popular science lecture circuit, particularly for Edinburgh audiences. He’s done the Fringe a time or two (and is there again this year) and has guest curated the Science Festival before. His vibe is that of the groovy science teacher, in the best sense of the phrase: funny, over-enthusiastic about his subject and skilled at lightening up dull research with cheeky anecdotes.
It might be something of a stretch to put tonight’s show – essentially a lecture about the psychology of sleep – in a ‘Magic’ Festival programme, but he gamely plays along. Magic was his first love, so he knows his way round a disappearing hanky trick. He’s also an optical illusion nerd by the looks of things and shows a series of perhaps fairly familiar visual tricks, often freshened up with a closing wisecrack.
The bulk of the show concerns sleep and dreaming though: a mini-lecture on each, split by a video intermission for his favourite dream-related Teller (of Penn & Teller) trick. Wiseman is an authority on the subject (he has his own sleep aid app – Dream:ON) and explains the different stages of sleep, how to get to sleep and some tricks you can use to improve your sleep. You’ll be wanting to try a “coffee nap” for sure. There’s also an interesting history of how dreams have been analysed, incorporating Freud, and all that entails, on the way.
He’s exceptionally well-practised. Slide changes are slickly timed, and punchlines smartly dispatched. He’s pacey too, and has a very effective command of proceedings; it’s hard to tell the difference between his prepared material and off-the-cuff stuff. There’s a sense that the show, at least its latter parts, are an extended advert for his book and app, but the audience are still eager with questions, and he’s eager to answer.
As ever with Wiseman, your brain will feel better for the experience, without feeling strained. Not a bad evening’s work for a guy who seems evangelical about his subjects.
Right, I’m off for a good night’s kip.