Powers' show, A Little Bit Wicked, is on at the Village Green in Mulgrave on Thursday.

From telling people their pants are on fire to making himself invisible, Powers says his latest show promises to be an entertaining one.

Powers' interest in magic started as a 12yearold, when he saw an old film with a hypnotist using a clock on a chain. After testing out what he saw in the movie on his brother, he soon found he had a talent for hypnotism.

Today, Powers has made more than 50 television specials in the UK, Europe and Australia.

His live shows are also proving a hit with international audiences, although some people are sceptical.

"I know for certain a lot of people come on stage who don't believe at all," Powers says. "I'm constantly approached by people who say they didn't believe it would work, which makes it all the more rewarding."

Powers says he tries to make his shows as funny and entertaining as possible, eschewing the more traditional hypnotist's performance method of calling for total silence.

"I thought, 'I'm going to change all this.' I just mess and goon about all the time. I'm hitting people with the microphone. I'm sniffing perfume on the girls' necks. I'm slapping the guys.

"I just clown around and make the whole process as amusing as I can and it works really well."

Powers often doesn't know which way the show is going to go: "That just keeps it intriguing for me. I get reactions I'm not expecting."

A Little Bit Wicked is at the Village Green, corner Springvale and Ferntree Gully roads, Mulgrave, on Thursday. Details: 95608400.