After 28 years of jaw-dropping hypnosis on stages across the country, Andre the Hilarious Hypnotist will deliver a farewell performance in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday as he prepares to leave SA.
The Port Elizabeth show is part of his farewell tour with shows in East London, Durban and Johannesburg scheduled for December and early January.
The hypnotist, full name Andre Grove, is set to relocate to the UK in February 2021 to broaden his career.
“I've been doing this in SA for decades and I think it’s time I move on and develop my international career.
“I have only been [overseas] for shows several times and this will be the first time that I’ll be [performing at] various theatres and not just one specific theatre,” he said.
He said he chose to relocate to the UK, where his family comes from, for its selection of theatres.
“In SA, we have a very low availability of theatres and it has been on the decline for years, so it makes more sense for me to go and explore the UK where there is quite a big selection of theatres to perform in.
“In terms of the market that awaits me, I believe I’m in for a surprise.
“I do know that the UK had a very famous hypnotist, Paul McKenna, but he doesn’t perform any more, but I don’t know how things will play out [for me],” he said.
Grove said his departure from SA would not be permanent.
“I’m not seeing this as leaving the country but as a step towards a different career direction for a while.
“SA is home to me, so I’m not going to go away forever, I think it will be for about five years and I’ll come back if SA still has a place for these shows,” he said.
From male strippers going too far, a man falling madly in love with a parrot puppet and other people believing they are lifeguards due to his hypnosis, Grove’s shows around the world are often characterised by some of the most bizarre sights one finds on stage.
He picks volunteers from the audience and hypnotises them into believing whatever he wants them to believe.
However, Grove says, people’s reactions to his hypnosis are usually a surprise to him too.
Grove, who cut his teeth on stages in the 1990s, was trained by his mentor and the late stage hypnotist Max Collie when the art was not as popular.
His name has since become synonymous with hypnosis among South African fans of the discipline.
He will perform a 75-minute show at the Gallery on Produce Street on December 2 at 8pm.
Tickets are available on Quicket.
HeraldLIVE
Hypnotist to dazzle PE audience one last time
Andre to try hand at practising his craft in the UK
News reporter
Image: Supplied
After 28 years of jaw-dropping hypnosis on stages across the country, Andre the Hilarious Hypnotist will deliver a farewell performance in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday as he prepares to leave SA.
The Port Elizabeth show is part of his farewell tour with shows in East London, Durban and Johannesburg scheduled for December and early January.
The hypnotist, full name Andre Grove, is set to relocate to the UK in February 2021 to broaden his career.
“I've been doing this in SA for decades and I think it’s time I move on and develop my international career.
“I have only been [overseas] for shows several times and this will be the first time that I’ll be [performing at] various theatres and not just one specific theatre,” he said.
He said he chose to relocate to the UK, where his family comes from, for its selection of theatres.
“In SA, we have a very low availability of theatres and it has been on the decline for years, so it makes more sense for me to go and explore the UK where there is quite a big selection of theatres to perform in.
“In terms of the market that awaits me, I believe I’m in for a surprise.
“I do know that the UK had a very famous hypnotist, Paul McKenna, but he doesn’t perform any more, but I don’t know how things will play out [for me],” he said.
Grove said his departure from SA would not be permanent.
“I’m not seeing this as leaving the country but as a step towards a different career direction for a while.
“SA is home to me, so I’m not going to go away forever, I think it will be for about five years and I’ll come back if SA still has a place for these shows,” he said.
From male strippers going too far, a man falling madly in love with a parrot puppet and other people believing they are lifeguards due to his hypnosis, Grove’s shows around the world are often characterised by some of the most bizarre sights one finds on stage.
He picks volunteers from the audience and hypnotises them into believing whatever he wants them to believe.
However, Grove says, people’s reactions to his hypnosis are usually a surprise to him too.
Grove, who cut his teeth on stages in the 1990s, was trained by his mentor and the late stage hypnotist Max Collie when the art was not as popular.
His name has since become synonymous with hypnosis among South African fans of the discipline.
He will perform a 75-minute show at the Gallery on Produce Street on December 2 at 8pm.
Tickets are available on Quicket.
HeraldLIVE
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