Untrained Actors flock to Gqeberha

Hundreds of as-yet-unknown actors, none of whom have any idea what they are doing, are on their way to Centrestage@Baywest to take part in a show in which the director has no idea what he is doing.

There is something reassuring about going to the theatre.The actors know their lines. The musicians know their songs. Someone knows what happens after the interval. On Saturday 10 October, Andre the Hilarious Hypnotist comes to Centrestage at Baywest without those luxuries.

He knows where he has to be.He knows what time the show starts. After that, Port Elizabeth takes over. For one night only, Andre hands a large part of his show to volunteers from the audience, so the people sitting quietly in their seats at the beginning of the evening can provide the entertainment a little later.

And nobody knows quite what they are going to do, Not even Andre. That has been the slightly dangerous formula behind his shows since 1989.There is a structure, of course. There is hypnosis. Andre has developed situations over thousands of performances around South Africa.

But then you add people, And people have an irritating habit of not following scripts.

“I've always thought that the best part of the show is the bit I couldn't possibly have planned,” says Andre. “You put someone into a situation and wait to see what their imagination does with it. Sometimes I’m as surprised as the audience.”

That makes Saturday night's performance something that will happen only once. There won't be another performance the following night with the same cast doing the same things. There can't  Port Elizabeth supplies this cast. Perhaps that's why, after more than three decades on stage, Andre still enjoys walking out in front of an audience. He isn't presenting a perfectly rehearsed piece of theatre for the thousandth time.

He's waiting to find out what happens.The volunteers are genuine audience members, and participation is entirely voluntary. Nobody is forced onto the stage, and volunteers must be 16 or older.So you are perfectly safe buying a ticket, sitting down and watching everybody else make questionable Saturday-night decisions.

Probably.

Andre the Hilarious Hypnotist

Saturday 10 October 2026

Centrestage at Baywest, Port Elizabeth

One night only

Tickets through Quicket