Surprises and laughs will certainly be in store when hypnotist Paul Royter (pictured) takes the City Hall stage this weekend.

Who will do silly things that they never thought possible you have to wonder?

The Specialised Youth Arts Charity and Bermuda Magic are bringing Mr. Royter back to the Island, after a five-year absence, for more mind-bending fun.

Event coordinator O'Brian Roberts said: "For those who haven't experienced a Paul Royter show you are in for a night of unbelievable laughter.

"What makes Paul's show different? He will not embarrass you or make you do anything that you wouldn't do in front of your children.

"He uses the power of suggestion, which enables you to release the kid inside of you."

Mr. Roberts added that from the moment Mr. Royter walks onto the stage he never fails to electrify even the most sophisticated of audiences.

"The show always has them rolling in the aisles with laughter," he said.

"The show is packed with excitement and is enjoyed by people from all age groups and all walks of life.

"It's filled with high energy and side-splitting humour throughout the entire performance.

"Seniors and children alike will be laughing hysterically as the show unfolds before their eyes."

Along with the hypnotist, The Magic of Lew, Jennifer and Friends will perform their 2007 Illusion Show.

Mr. Royter spoke to The Royal Gazette from his home in Waterloo, Canada, about how he got into hypnosis and what the audience could expect from his performance.

This is his third time coming to Bermuda and he said that the Bermuda audience was great.

"We don't get anyone to do anything that is embarrassing and I am adamant on that," he stressed.

He began performing as a magician when he was in first grade and has continued since then.

"So I have been in the entertainment business for many, many years," said Mr. Royter.

"In my years of being a magician, I working with a man called Reveen and I was very impressed with his show.

"I know that my performance as a performing magician, helped me, because it is your ability to have stage presence and communication with the audience and for them to believe what you are saying is true – and you really have to protect that.

"Because everyone thinks this is baloney even before I even get the volunteers up. A lot of people think that they (the volunteers) are up there faking it, but if I catch them faking it, I just send them back."

He said that he can spot a fake when they giggle or laugh when they should not. "The audience can laugh, but I can also tell by their eyes."

When asked how he picked his volunteers, he explained: "I usually start out with 30 chairs on the stage and I try to get 30 people and then I try to narrow it down.

"Now statistics say, that about 20 to 30 percent of the population can be hypnotised deep enough to take part in a stage show.

"So that is why we start out with more than we need on stage. Sometimes I have as many as 20 people on stage, but it all depends on their frame of mind."

They need to be able to listen to what he says in order to be hypnotised and that he says only takes about five minutes.

"We plead with the audience to be extremely quiet and the more people we get hypnotised, the more fun we will have. It also makes my job more interesting, because I have to keep track of who is doing what, because it is no good if you forget."

He has found that some audience members are nervous by the prospect of a hypnosis show.

"They are not sure what they are going to see if they have not seen a hypnosis show before," he said.

"They sometimes tend to think that it has something to do with the supernatural, but it is not at all.

"It's a lot of fun and it is even more so when you see someone on the stage that you recognise. It is one thing to see it on TV or in a different city where you don't know anybody, but when Uncle Fred is up there it makes it all the more interesting and all the more believable."

Participants have different experiences of the show.

"Some people remember bits and pieces – there's different depth levels of hypnosis, as I said earlier, only about 30 percent can go under deep enough for a stage show," Mr. Royter said.

"But if you are looking at hypnotherapy, almost anyone can be hypnotised – a hypnotherapist can spend 15 minutes to a half-hour putting the person under into a deep trance."

Mr. Royter plans to start the show with a little bit of magic to warm up the audience before moving into the heart of his programme. He said: "If someone asks me, 'what do I do,' I say, 'I make people laugh'.

"I am primarily am an entertainer."