Peter Powers’ 11-year-old brother was the test dummy when the world-renowned hypnotist began practicing the skill at 12-years-old.
The pair had watched a black-and-white movie about a hypnotist and cheekily decided to re-enact the scene.
“My father had a pocket watch he used to wear for church on Sundays, and I’m laughing as I say this because he wouldn’t approve of his church watch being used for hypnotism,” Powers reminisced.
“I didn’t believe it would work. I thought hypnotism was like magic carpets – make believe – but we still went through the motions of ‘look at the watch, your eyelids are getting heavy’, that kind of stuff.
“My brother dutifully closed his eyes, and he sat back in the armchair, and there was something about his face that looked different.”
It turns out there are certain muscles in the face that humans can’t voluntarily relax – unless they’ve been hypnotised.
To bring his brother back, the young Powers clapped his hands, causing his sibling to wake with a jolt.
“He was a bit disorientated, a bit emotional, and I knew that something had happened, and it started an obsession for me,” Powers recounted.
“The next day I went down to my local library and borrowed a book called Hypnotism Revealed.
“I read that, and I practiced on my brother again, and then I got another book, and eventually I was practicing on kids at school. I got into a bit of trouble for that.”
He wasn’t afraid of failure and continued to practice even though he was unable to hypnotise most people.
“That ratio eventually changed to 50/50 and then 60/40 and so on as I tweaked my technique and realised different people suit different forms of hypnosis,” Powers stated.
Powers just needed to broaden his hypnotic vocabulary.
“If I was to try and hypnotise 10 people, a few of those people would respond to an entirely different technique than the others,” Powers stated.
“When I’m trying to do it quickly on the stage, I only really use one technique, and that gets about 70 per cent of people.
“With a one-on-one situation, if it was for therapeutic purposes, I’m confident that I would get everybody under.”
The skill is an applied psychology, not a magical ability even though it may feel that way at a Peter Powers show.
“It’s mischief and comedy from the start,” Powers explained his performance.
“I don’t compel or choose people to come on the stage; I just ask for volunteers.
“Thankfully that has never been a problem in Australia; Aussies have that adventurous, give-it-a-go spirit which has always done well for me.”
Prepare for onstage antics and hilarity when the UK comedy hypnotist visits Penrith Panthers Leagues Club on July 18. Book a ticket online at https://penrith.panthers.com.au.
Ally Hall
Ally Hall joined the Weekender in 2024, and focuses on entertainment and community stories. She's a graduate of the University of South Australia and has previously worked as a Video Journalist with Southern Cross Austereo and as a News Reader with Australian Radio Network.