27 Feb Four Magicians. One Event
When One Magician Isn't Enough
A company's 50th, 400 guests, and one magician who can only be in one place at a time. So I brought the team - here's how four close-up magicians work a room that big.
Not long ago I got the call every magician likes: a local company throwing their 50th anniversary at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham, and they wanted entertainment. "Love to," I said. "How many guests?" The answer came back down the line: four hundred.
Now, over an evening meal I can comfortably work a room of about a hundred. Four hundred is a different animal - that's stretching a single pair of hands so thin that half the room never gets a proper look. A celebration that size needs more than one magician.
So for events like this I call in the team - a band of event magicians I've hand-picked and trust completely. It's exactly the kind of big corporate night I do right across Birmingham and the Midlands, and this one needed all four of us to turn 400 guests into a room that was still buzzing at the end.
First, warm up the room
Four hundred strangers holding drinks, waiting to sit down. That's the moment magic earns its keep.
Big anniversary do's tend to start a bit stiff - everyone clutching a glass, making polite small talk, waiting for the meal. Drop a few close-up magicians into that and it changes in minutes. The room goes from stiff to buzzing before anyone's even found their seat.
The team spread out and work the room as walkabout entertainers - short, sharp pieces of magic that pull small groups together. Within seconds there's a huddle round each of us, gasps and laughs going up, strangers suddenly talking to each other about what they just saw.
That's the whole point of the reception slot: keep the tricks short and mobile so each magician can hop from group to group and reach as many people as possible before everyone heads through to the banquet room.
"A stuffy drinks reception is where a magician does the most good. Ten minutes in and a room of strangers is behaving like they've known each other for years."
Then work the tables
Once everyone sits down, the job changes. Each magician takes a set of tables and works them between courses - a few minutes of close-up magic at each while the food comes and goes. Nobody's staring at their phone waiting for the next speech.
It sounds simple. It isn't. Holding the full attention of twelve people mid-meal, then doing it again at the next table, and the next, for a few hundred guests - that takes years of table experience. It's a proper craft, and it's exactly what the team is built for.
Twelve guests, three courses, one magician per cluster of tables. Nobody gets bored between the starter and the speeches.
Meet the event magicians
Each one hand-picked, highly experienced, and carrying my seal of approval. Here's who works the room when I bring the team.
Close Up Russ
Our pint-sized comedy magician with a gag for every occasion and some genuinely outrageous magic - invisible cards turning real, tomatoes from nowhere, mind-reading with an egg whisk. A powerhouse at the table.
Close Up Sean
The man with a thousand tricks. Thought-of cards turn up in trouser pockets, borrowed rings appear inside egg timers, and minds get read all night long. A genuine force to be reckoned with.
Close Up Steve
Our mix-and-mingle mind reader. Thoughts extracted, PIN numbers revealed, and a slice of hypnosis thrown in for good measure - a slick blend of classic close-up and mentalism.
Close-Up Chris
That's me. I won't leave a table until I've had the laughs, the gasps and the applause - sleight of hand, pickpocketing, mind reading and a splash of comedy. And unofficially, the tallest magician you'll meet.
Photos by Jordan Fox Photography
See the team in action
A few minutes from the 50th - four magicians, four hundred guests, and one very lively room.
We've had non-stop rave reviews from our guests - Chris and the team did an amazing job.
Planning a big one? Bring the team.
Whether it's a 400-guest anniversary or an intimate dinner, I can come solo or bring the full team of event magicians. Tell me about your event and I'll come back with availability and a pricing PDF within hours.
