Hypnotist Matt Hale is back again at Gluttony for the Adelaide Fringe but this year we get the Remix version! Hypnotist Matt Hale: Top Fun! 80’s Spectacular – Remix is his latest show and this time in The Peacock tent which is the perfect fit for a crazy one hour of fun! fun! fun! ‘Walk this way’ towards a ‘highway to the danger zone’ where you will be ‘livin’ on a prayer!’ Ok, ok enough 80s references but that’s this show in one; all the best 80s nostalgia plus the hilarity of people on stage doing some (ok just one more) ‘risky business’ and things they wouldn’t necessarily do without the aid of hypnosis.
Matt Hale is a big ball of energy, bouncing around the stage getting the crowd revved up for fun and laughter. Just to clarify and ease any ones nerves this is a volunteer based show. So, if you just want to sit back and observe the laugh out loud antics you can without fear of being tapped on the shoulder. On this night there were more volunteers than seats, that’s how popular participation is!
We saw people playing air drums, air flute, air guitar, air saxophone or being a playful meerkat, an elephant and even a six foot tall male cheerleader that did some fantastic tricks with the pom poms! The group antics were a riot with roaming zombies, world famous supermodels and raucous dinosaurs on stage. It really was a hypnotic circus of hilarity.
As always there are the ones that standout and tonight the stars were Tobie and Fraser. Tobie was a tall statuesque lady who danced and strutted her stuff to Islands in the Stream that would even make the Beckhams envious! Fraser was a assertive and serious bouncer making sure the audience didn’t laugh and I have to say that it was a tough job as Matt Hale had us laughing non-stop!
On the way home on the tram we saw one of the participants and I just had to ask “Were you really hypnotised?” and her mother quickly snapped “She sure was! She is the shyest person and would never do any of the things she did on stage.” This lady was the one playing the saxophone solo whenever Careless Whisper came on. She did say to me “You’re conscious of what you’re doing, you just cant control it when ever you get the command.” I’ve heard many say the same thing. They have no control. So, yes, it’s real. Its not staged. People have gone back again and again just to experience being hypnotised!
Top Fun was exactly that; Top Fun! I’ve seen Matt Hale a few times and this years show was the best!
Hypnosis isn’t about controlling you. It’s about letting go. What Matt Hale presents is a night of fun, joy and happiness.