It depends on the group. Gerard V’s Comedy Hypnotist Show is usually aimed at groups of over 50 people, and the more people who volunteer to come up on stage, the better the show will be. But for smaller events Gerard also does a Small Group Show for groups of 20 - 40. We have done functions for as few as 9 people. The main thing for the full-on show is to get volunteers at the start of the show, so more people is always better. For a close group (people who know each other and get on well) we will do shows for a handful or two.

Generally, people need a bit of time to get used to the idea before they volunteer to come on stage. If your group is mostly new to being hypnotised then a surprise show is probably not a great idea. However, for the right kind of group a surprise show can work really well. We would need to discuss it with you well beforehand as there are a few traps to watch out for when staging a surprise hypnosis show.

We can work with a variety of venues, but generally they need to be private, and have electric power available. Seating is necessary for the volunteers, and given the length of the show, usually for the audience too. Click here for a bunch of information about venues for our show.

We travel with 300 - 400kgs of equipment for our show. We do this because we pride ourselves on presenting a professional stage show. Creating the right atmosphere with sound, music and lighting adds greatly to the effect of the show and the enjoyment of the audience. It is also more fun for us and less like work. We want everyone to have a great time. Good music and a good sound system is vital, and lighting creates the necessary mood. It would also be fair to say that Gerard V likes having nice toys, so we are always trying out new gear.

Hypnosis is a good way to help with smoking cessation. But for it to work, the hypnotist needs to deal with the practical and unique issues each client has. Smoking is complex because it has chemical addiction, social conditioning and individual habits all combined. If playing a CD (even a very good one) would reliably “cure” smoking, then wouldn't it be more widely successful and recommended? I won't say that recorded hypnotic CDs never work, but in the case of smoking, they work too seldom for there to be any integrity in taking your money for them.

You shouldn’t need to ask. But in short - I want everyone to feel respected.

We carefully select our material to avoid being rude or disrespectful to the participants. Since it is the participants who actually make the show, they deserve only respect and encouragement. None of our material is demeaning, nor would we ask anyone to do anything we would not do on stage ourselves or which would be unsuitable for prime time family viewing.

No… You will be unconscious. You will also have a great deal of fun!

We have done outdoor shows, in daylight and evenings. We still need power and shelter so as not to ruin a bunch of expensive equipment if it rains. If the show will run past dusk then lighting is essential and it pays to take into account that outdoor sound needs more powerful equipment than indoor functions do.