Dwayne Robbins’ Inspiration Hour sounds like the kind of show that’s going to spend its entire duration making fun of Anthony Robbins and his empire. How wonderful to then meet Dwayne at The Wick in Fitzroy and discover that his show was as good as it sounded.

As soon as Dwayne Robbins (played by Ashley Barnett) bounced on stage, American accent in full swing, I knew it was going to be one brilliant parody of the self-help industry. And oh, how the industry was mocked. The Secret was hit hard, abundance and wealth were focused on, positive thinking and feng shui were highlighted and everything else – from motivation to affirmations – were all highly satirised.

With a PowerPoint presentation and flipchart in hand, Dwayne Robbins’ ‘seminar’ on making money, looking good and owning expensive stuff was rather comical. Not quite as comical as his fake tan and pearly whites, but almost.

The highlight of the Inspiration Hour, for me, was the magic that Robbins, a motivational magician, performed. As we discovered, through the power of positive thinking, anything you want can manifest itself. Robbins busied himself with manifesting all manner of strange material things, and even ensuring the disappearance of some material things. Every trick was an unexpected addition for the audience. Every gag was simple, yet effective enough to draw giggles and gasps.

Whilst a few technical hiccups jolted the show’s flow a couple of times, it was an all-round stellar performance from a one-man show. Check out Dwayne Robbins and be inspired – chances are he’ll even change you, right there on the spot.

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