Colin Mochrie brings 'HYPROV: Improv Under Hypnosis' to Halifax this April

Comedian Colin Mochrie, star of the show “Whose Line is it Anyway?” and hypnotist Asad Mecci are bringing their show “HYPROV: Improv Under Hypnosis” to the Maritimes.

The show begins as Mecci brings 20 volunteers on stage to be hypnotized, with the most receptive five going on to do an improv show with Mochrie.

“Every night is sort of crazy,” said Mochrie in an interview with CTV News. “Because they don't play by usual improvisers' rules.”

He says the hypnotized audience members don’t worry about where the scene is going to go and instead react and improvise in the moment.

But Mochrie’s bag of tricks doesn’t always go to plan.

“During the proposal scene one night, as the person got down on their knee to propose to me, they noticed I had a wedding ring on.”

“They got upset,” said Mochrie. “I had to come up with this explanation as to why I was wearing this ring and I wasn’t married. So I love the fact that it keeps me on my toes.”

Mecci says first-time improvisers will play to the crowd and hesitate, but that changes under hypnosis.

“These people, as soon as I give them the suggestion, they carry out the suggestion without hesitation, without question and they’re fully committed to the scene,” said Mecci. “It’s seamless improv.”

Following an Off-Broadway run last fall, the pair will bring their show to Halifax’s Rebecca Cohen Auditorium on April 6. Shows in Saint John, N.B., and Fredericton have already sold out.