I would say that Keith Barry is highly qualified at the following ...

- reading body language
- hypnosis
- human psychology
- misdirection
- power of suggestion (pseudo-hypnosis)

Combining those skills (and a lifetime of experience) he pulls off some amazing stunts.

So in that sense, I absolutely believe the show it is real. It is an exhibition of his skills.

BUT, it is still TV ... which is fake. i.e. They plan out these stunts in advance. They attempt everything multiple times, and cut out the attempts that don't work as expected. They film planned and rehearsed scenes as filler programming, etc.

I agree that it is a great program!! It really opened my eyes to the power of suggestion (where we see things around us and assimilate that information without being aware that we even saw it in the first place!)