I’m not sure if Matt Hale was a comedian before becoming a hypnotist or was a hypnotist before becoming a comedian but this guy is good at both. With Top Fun! 80s Spectacular Remixed, he’s brought back relatively the same show as last year but added some extra hits into the mix. As Matt explains at the start of his performance, hypnosis is a strange word that is often misinterpreted. You don’t go into a trance, you can’t get stuck in a weird state, and he can’t make you do something you don’t want to. Hypnosis is simply a deeply relaxed state where you allow yourself to become open to suggestion. With this show, Matt has put an 80s track to his hypnotic suggestions and, as he always does, created a whole lot of fun. Jumping around the stage like an energiser bunny, Matt’s enthusiasm is infectious. Throwing out 80s references, getting the packed-out crowd to sing along to Bon Jovi, and making a few jokes at his own expense, this is a show that screams TOP FUN. I guess that’s why it’s in the title! After the introductions were all done and dusted it was time for volunteers to be called up to the stage, and they arrived in droves. It’s at this time that Matt culls the herd, so to speak, and cuts thirty volunteers down to ten. And that’s where the silliness begins. The ten volunteers are put in a hypnotic state and pretend to fly a fighter plane, move like dinosaurs and all take part in a silly walk. Hale also lets a few individuals star, as one is asked to dance with pom poms, another plays the saxophone, while another is asked to tell off the crowd for laughing. It was all good harmless fun (that word again), and even from an audience perspective, a fascinating insight into the world of hypnosis. Of course, there are always people who aren’t as open to suggestions, and from our seats, my buddy and I could see certain volunteers who didn’t seem as enamoured with being up onstage as others. But, as mentioned previously, Matt is great at what he does and keeps the show going at a lightning-quick pace. Delivering plenty of laughs and good old-fashioned family-friendly entertainment, Top Fun! 80s Spectacular is a show that EVERYBODY will enjoy. FOUR AND A HALF STARS ****1/2 Reviewed by Shane Berketa