Agreed, mentalism is not inherently funny. I feel the time for natural humour (not cheap gags, as this detracts from the sophistication that should be in mentalism)is in between effects.

That said, the effects can be presented in a light hearted way, to make everything slightly less heavy. But there is room for byplay in some routines, as said, such as bank night and confabulation...

I think Richard Osterlind has the correct blend of humour and seriousness in his routines- everyone is relaxed, entertained, but totally enthralled and astonished.

Simon

I disagree with some of you.

although some of the one-liner you provided here are very funny-(I liked the most the one with David Bakham) but mentalism is a serious stuff.

You can add some one-liner but Banachek and Osterlind and Max Maven aren't funny guys!!

Jeff hobson and Rich Maroota are funny.
The point is that if you turn your act to a comedy show-the reaction you will get on your mental stuff wont be that strong.

Derren brown is a great example for that.

Have fun
Roi

Roi, mentalsim in itself may not be funny, but a performer CAN add comedy to a routine to make it more entertaining, without necessarily diluting the impact of the effect. As Ian Brodmore points out in his post above, the ability to inject humor into a mentalism performance revolves around the performer's personality. It can be done - some do it well, and others do it poorly. Personally, I think comedy mentalism suits my personality, and I can do it with or without the humor - I'm still working on adding comedy to other mentalsim effects I do. As themindreader points out in his post, I agree that the PREMISE should not be funny.

I think it's the journey that can be humorous, not necessarily the destination.

For the first time a couple months ago, I performed a brief comedy mentalism routine while doing ODDS by Richard Osterlind. Prior to this, I had only tried being serious with my mentalism. My goal was to ENTERTAIN. I think that this is what an audience wants more than anything - to be entertained. After adding comedy, I think I have come to the conclusion that audiences prefer the addition of humor. This is the direction I'm now heading...

Here's a link if you care to see my performance. I had only a couple days to come up with the routine, and unfortunately I did not get a chance to see how things were going to be set up on the set until it was almost time for me to go on, but I think it worked out OK...

http://homepage.mac.com/koskis2005/iMovieTheater1.html

Enjoy!
Kaylan

ROI,

I would have to disagree... especially with Osterlind and Maven. Watch Osterlinds video serious... You're right, he's now Hobson, but he's certainly not "not-funny." Same with Maven. He uses a bit of sarcastic type humor. For example, years ago, I saw him on "world's greatest magic." He walked out on stage VERY SERIOUS, looking very mysterious in a serious deep look, almost kind of creepy... then after a pause and a moment of silence, in a deep voice, he says, "boo."

It was quite funny, again, no Hobson, but not "not-funny." There's a guy on this forum (spinnato) who makes a living doing a comedy mentalist routine, and he's got a great show, and his audience is still very amazed by his material, even though his funny.

Interesting to see what different peoples' initial thoughts are in different geographical 'spaces' which are also culturally different with respect to comedy.
I think for example both the British and American styles, although some might argue different in relation to irony, both lean towards delivery rather than a funny 'written' line.

May I offer the following Gag I've been doing for a while, it's often useful if for some reason something goes wrong and you need an out...I say ok sir think of any word at all have you got a word in mind...lovely, (I then write something down) I then ask him to read aloud what I have, and he replies "Blimey, it's the word I'm thinking of" cue applause, turn board round to reveal that you've written
"Blimey, it's the word I'm thinking of" on the back, cue laughter....horrah!

One thing is to be funny and another thing is act with a comedy character.
And one thing is do ONE mentalism trick and another thing is do ONE HOUR show of mentalism