Magician and mentalist in Amsterdam — Oliver Henke
Close-up magic for Amsterdam events
A German close-up magician and mentalist, booked across Europe and available for events in Amsterdam. Entertainment for rooms that were never built for a stage.
The standard in Amsterdam is the same as at more than 1,500 shows before: your guests should leave genuinely impressed, not merely entertained.
At a glance
Everything you want to know before enquiring
Eight details organisers raise most often before booking a magician in Amsterdam — enough to judge in two minutes whether this fits your evening.
| Detail | For your event in Amsterdam |
|---|---|
| What you book | One magician and mentalist for the whole evening — not two acts with two briefings |
| Formats | Close-up magic at the tables, mentalist stage show – or both in one evening |
| Duration | Close-up two to three hours · stage show 30 to 50 minutes |
| How many guests | Around 80 to 150 guests in two to three hours, in small groups one after another |
| Equipment | None required. No power, no sound, no stage, no set-up in your run of show |
| Where he works | Amsterdam and beyond – Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Mallorca |
| Languages | German and English |
| Experience | More than 1,500 shows · 4.94 out of 5 on ProvenExpert, 100 % recommendation |
| Reply to your enquiry | Usually within 24 hours, with a note on which format carries your evening |
What it is
Magic that happens in your guests' own hands
Nothing here is announced from a stage. He works his way between the groups, and the card ends up in a guest's own hand rather than on a screen.
The difference
Five or six people at a time, three to five minutes, then on to the next group. No microphone, no lighting change, no point at which the room has to be called to order. The schedule you wrote stays intact.
The useful part is what happens afterwards. Two people who had only nodded across the room now have something to discuss. At a reception whose whole purpose is that people meet, that works better than any seating plan.
Because nothing is rigged and nothing is scheduled, running late costs nothing. If the kitchen is twenty minutes behind, he simply stays in the room.
The Amsterdam room
Beautiful venues, no stage space
Canal houses, listed interiors, narrow floors with low ceilings: Amsterdam has some of the most attractive event spaces in Europe and almost none of them have room for a stage.
Nothing has to be installed
No truss, no lighting, no speakers, no cabling across a 17th-century floor. He arrives, leaves a bag somewhere and starts. For a venue with preservation rules, that is often the difference between yes and no.
It works across several small rooms
Where a canal house splits guests over three floors, a single act on one of them reaches a third of the room. He moves between the groups instead of asking everyone to gather.
An international audience by default
Amsterdam corporate events rarely have one shared first language. The pieces happen in the guests’ hands and need no translation; the spoken parts run in English.
Why it works
Knowing that engineers scrutinise magic more closely than most, you managed within minutes to make us doubt our own grasp of physics.
Dr. J. StinnesbeckE.ON Engineering, Rotterdam
Formats
Three ways to use him in Amsterdam
Which format fits is a question of your programme, not of what you want to spend.
More on close-up magic
Two to three hours in and among the guests. Nothing required from the venue at all.
Stage show & mentalism
Thirty to fifty minutes, with people from your own audience in the leading roles. Works from about sixty seated guests upwards.
Both in one evening
The pairing most people ask for: close up while the room fills, the stage piece after dinner.
We were thoroughly impressed by the professionalism and the sheer level of the performance. What struck us most was the closeness he built with the audience.
Event management
Romaco Group
Our guests and we were left speechless more than once. The audience was picked up perfectly and left astonished. Our expectations were exceeded by a distance.
Event management
Hexagon
He works in a smart, modern way that genuinely enchants people. Absolutely recommended.
Philipp Sauer
GEDORE
Before you ask
What organisers in Amsterdam ask most
Does he travel from Germany for a single event?
Yes. He is based in Essen and travels for work — Vienna, Paris, Stockholm, Monaco, Milan and Rome are on the regular circuit, and Los Angeles twice. Amsterdam is a short hop from that base. Flights and accommodation are itemised separately in the written quote, so you see the travel portion before you commit.
Our venue is a canal house with very little space.
That is close to the ideal case. Close-up magic needs no floor area of its own — he works standing in the group that is already there. Only a stage set would need a clear area and a microphone, and that is a separate decision.
How far in advance should we book?
Three to six months keeps the travel portion sensible. Shorter notice is still worth an email — dates do open up, and you will have an answer within a day.
Is the show performed in English?
The whole show runs in English, and much of it needs no language at all — the guests shuffle, choose and hold things themselves. In a room where half the company is international, that matters more than it sounds.
What does he need on site?
Close up needs nothing: no power, no microphone, no stage, not even a table. A corner for a coat is enough. For a stage set, add a radio mic and a clear area of about three by two metres.
How many guests can he reach in one evening?
Eighty to a hundred and fifty guests in two to three hours, in small groups. Beyond that you either add time or concentrate on where people actually stand — the bar, the reception, the terrace.
Does he claim to have psychic abilities?
No. It is presented as craft, not as a claim. In front of people who question things for a living that is the only honest option, and it costs the effect nothing.
What does it cost?
It depends on duration, guest numbers, format and travel. No price list is published, because a flat figure would mislead you. You receive a written fixed-price quote for your actual run of show, usually within 24 hours, travel included and itemised.
Read on
The formats in detail
Close-up magic
Magic among your guests — no stage, no technology, no programme slot.
To close-up magicMore on the stage show
30 to 50 minutes of magic and mind reading as the shared highlight of the evening.
To the stage showThe second half
The mentalist half of an Amsterdam evening
A magician works the reception. A mentalist carries the seated part — and in a canal house, that has to happen without a raised stage.
On stage
Close-up magic works while people are standing and moving. Mentalism works the moment they sit down, and it is the half most enquiries forget to ask about.
As a mentalist he reads a word a guest wrote down and never showed, names a number someone only thought of, and opens an envelope sealed before the decision inside it was made. Thirty to fifty minutes, one guest on stage at a time, the rest of the room watching somebody they know.
Most Amsterdam venues give you a room, not a theatre. The stage half is built for that: a floor, a microphone and eighty people in a half circle work as well as a platform.
Both halves belong to one evening and one fee: he works the tables during the reception, then takes the stage after dinner. Booking a magician and a mentalist separately means two contracts, two briefings and two people who do not know your run of show.
Tell me about your event.
Occasion, date and rough guest count are enough to start. From that it is easy to say which format carries your evening — and where in the run of show it belongs.