Brisbane, prepare your diaries — and possibly your subconscious — because HYPROV: Improv Under Hypnosis is officially headed your way in 2026! On April 16, the Brisbane Powerhouse will transform into a comedy-laboratory-meets-hypnosis-hub as Colin Mochrie, the Canadian improv legend from Whose Line Is It Anyway?, teams up with Asad Mecci, world-renowned hypnotist and mental strength coach, for a show that is part comedy spectacle, part social experiment, and part “how is this even allowed?”
So, what exactly is HYPROV?
Imagine the fast, loose, slightly-chaotic brilliance of improv comedy. Now imagine half the cast is… hypnotised. Yes. Actually hypnotised.
The night begins with Asad Mecci selecting 20 volunteers from the audience and putting them under — deeply, hilariously under. From those, the most responsive (read: the ones who go under fastest and funniest) remain onstage.
Then Colin Mochrie — a man who has survived decades of improv-related anarchy — performs an entire show with these hypnotised Brisbanites as his castmates.
What follows? A glorious blend of comedy, unpredictability, and the kind of moments you’ll later try explaining to your friends but give up because “you had to be there.”
Colin Mochrie is improv royalty, having starred in both the UK and US versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, which has aired across more than 100 countries. If anyone can handle a stage full of hypnotised Queenslanders, it’s this man.
Asad Mecci, meanwhile, has been profiled everywhere from The New York Times to The Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker. He trains professional athletes in visualisation, coaches major corporations in motivation and stress management, and somehow also specialises in hypnotising perfect strangers for comedy purposes. (Iconic behaviour, honestly.)
It seems like HYPROV definitely won’t be your standard night out — it’s the kind of event that leaves audiences clutching their sides, blinking in disbelief, and immediately texting every group chat they’ve ever been in. The show promises the sharp, quick-witted electricity of improv with the surreal unpredictability of hypnosis.
It all seems wonderfully chaotic and strangely precise. Even if you never intend to set foot onstage yourself, there’s a special kind of joy in watching hypnotised volunteers commit wholeheartedly to imaginary worlds and scenes, guided by Colin Mochrie’s legendary timing and Asad Mecci’s hypnotic finesse. It’s improv with an extra twist, hypnosis with extra heart, and a front-row seat to human behaviour at its funniest and most surprising, making it one of the most unmissable nights on Brisbane’s 2026 calendar.
Whether you’re going to volunteer, spectate, or simply whisper “this is wild” every 45 seconds, HYPROV is shaping up to be one of Brisbane’s most delightfully unhinged nights of 2026.
WHAT: HYPROV: Improv Under Hypnosis
WHEN: 16 April, 2026
WHERE: Brisbane Powerhouse
TICKETS: Get your tickets to Hyprov here.
In her spare time, she likes long walks down the makeup aisle and performing in Brisbane theatre. You can follow her adventures on Instagram and TikTok @thebeautypalate.
