It’s possible to stage a hypno show in almost any kind of venue. The main thing is to have enough room, comfortable seating for the audience, and not too many distractions such as noise or people coming and going. Ideally a hall or theatre type space works best. Cabaret style seating (like a café) or theatre style seating (rows) allows for a good number of people. Remember that the volunteers will need to be able to get from their seats in the audience to the stage. Also, if the volunteers can leave the stage and interact with the audience during the show we can use more skits and gags than we could if the volunteers have to remain in the stage area.

A stage is useful for raising the action up higher so that everyone can see it, though a proper stage is not always necessary. There does need to be plenty of space for the volunteers to sit in one or more rows, while the hypnotist needs to be able to easily walk along behind them. There must also be enough room for the volunteers to lark about on the stage. If there’s not enough space, they won’t be able to express themselves fully, and too little space with a steep drop is a safety risk.

There are some special requirements for the chairs used by the volunteers. They must be able to sit comfortably with their feet flat on the floor. The chairs should not have arms, as chair arms restrict movement, and prevent the participants falling asleep on each other. Sleeping on each others shoulders and laps is an important part of the hypnotic setup – it can be funny in itself, and breaks down the mild inhibitions people have when seated next to complete strangers. We have used some softer chairs with great success, but armchair styles and sofas are generally too deep and don’t allow people to get up easily enough to be used for the show.