Stage hypnotist Acari fully understands why some people may be scared about coming along to one of his shows.

But as one of the country’s leading comedy hypnotist he is quick to put them at their ease.

Lancashire Telegraph: Acari

“People can be scared by the idea of hypnosis,” he said. “They think that if they come to a show I’m going to pick on them or make fun of them. But that’s just not the case, that’s not what I would ever do.

“Anyone who comes on to the stage with me is a volunteer. I have never forced anyone to take part in a show in my life. All volunteers must be 18 and even if you do volunteer you can stop at any point.

“I’ve been doing this a long time and I’m not degrading anyone who comes on to that stage.”

Audiences around the country have loved the shows and now Acari is returning to the Empire Theatre in Blackburn for the first time in 12 years for a show later this month.

“It’s been a while,” he admitted, “but it’s a theatre I really love. It’s such an intimate space which works really well for what I do. I put on a real family show. There’s no place for filth or rudeness, I won’t have that.

“When a volunteer is asleep they might get dressed up as Lady Gaga but it’s all a bit of fun. We often get kids coming along with their parents. The only thing I say is that I can’t control the language from a volunteer once they are under. You never know what someone might say but if they start swearing I’ll wake them up straight away and tell them off!

“So if you are bringing a 12-year-old just be mindful of that.”

A former publican, Acari underwent a dramatic career change when he was just 32.

“I owned seven pubs by then,” he said, “and I suddenly realised that I didn’t want to be running pubs for the rest of my life. So I sold up and quit. The plan was to go on holidays, take golfing trips with my pals but you soon get board with that.

“When I was young I used to work at the Whitehall Theatre in Dundee where I grew up. One night I saw a hypnotist called Robert Halpern and I was amazed by what he did.

“It stuck with me and when I was looking for a new direction the idea of stage hypnotism came back to me. I got in touch with Ormond McGill who is a legendary figure among stage hypnotists.

“I knew he was American but when he said he would help to train me I didn’t realise he was actually living there. So off I went and spent three years studying with him in Boston. It’s a bit like doing a psychology degree but for hypnotism you actually take it further and study more. I’ve never looked back. I’ve never regretted it. I love doing the show.”

Away from the stage shows Acari also uses his training to help people through private consultations.

“It’s fantastic when you can help someone who has suffered from anything whether that’s drugs or alcohol addiction, phobias or they just want to stop smoking,” he said.

Being a stage hypnotist has made Acari a great judge of people.

Lancashire Telegraph: Acari on stage

“I can tell who is going to volunteer when they walk into the theatre,” he said. “You will get the cocky ones who just want to show off on stage and they will pretend to go under but I can see straight through that and I just ask them to return to their seats.

“Everybody in the world can be hypnotised but what we are doing is looking for those who will go under hypnosis very quickly. I can’t spend 15 minutes on one person getting them hypnotised then spend 20 minutes on the next person. There would be no time for a show.

“I want volunteers who go under within a couple of minutes. It’s funny because it’s often the ones who come up thinking ‘you’ll never get me under’ who go very easily.”

Throughout the show Acari is focussed on the volunteers and making sure they are fine. Then when he brings them out of hypnosis he will chat with them all.

“They have no recollection of the show and sometimes they might feel a little light headed for a minute or sleepy but there are no lasting effects, it is completely safe.

“But I take my responsibilities very seriously. The entertainment is for the audience, my focus is on those volunteers on stage.”

Acari, Empire Theatre, Blackburn, Friday, April 26. Details from www.blackburnempire.com