Magician and mentalist in London — Oliver Henke
Modern magic for London
Magic that happens right in front of your eyes: interactive, surprising and in the middle of your guests. For corporate events, weddings and exclusive celebrations in London and across Greater London and the South East.
20+ years of experience · 1,500+ events · English & German · Booking across Europe
You are not booking a trick — you are booking a moment
London runs on well-organised evenings. What people carry home from them is rarely the seating plan — it is the two minutes when something happened at their table that nobody could explain.
Oliver Henke has been creating those two minutes for over twenty years — close up, in the middle of the room, and on stage as a mentalist who can quieten three hundred people at once.
✓ Premium entertainment: Equally at ease in a City livery hall and at a private celebration.
✓ Personal, never off the shelf: Nothing is pulled off a shelf — the set follows your run of show.
✓ Interactive: Your guests hold the cards and make the decisions. They are not an audience.
Magic right among your guests
Nothing here happens at a distance. The card is in your guest’s hand, the coin closes inside their fist, and the table watches from a foot away.
He works the room the way a good host does — arriving at a group, staying four or five minutes, leaving them talking. Cards, coins and whatever is already on the table become the material, and so do the choices the guests make.
At receptions, corporate parties, networking events, gala dinners and weddings in London this creates a very particular dynamic: people laugh together, start talking to each other and share something that connects them.
No stage, no microphone, no gap between performer and guest.
The right format for every occasion
Close-up magic
Close up at the drinks reception, between courses or while the room is networking — no stage, no set-up, no interruption.
Stage show + mind reading
One moment the whole room shares: interactive magic and mind reading, timed to your programme.
Close-up + stage show
Close up while the room is still filling, then everyone together for the stage set.
Magic for special events in London
Corporate events
Modern magic for company parties, galas, Christmas parties and client events – as a stylish icebreaker or as the shared highlight of the evening.
Weddings
Magic over the drinks reception, during dinner or as the highlight of the evening – personal, interactive and right among your guests.
Private celebrations
Birthdays, anniversaries and exclusive private events – close-up magic that turns guests into participants.
The second half
The mentalist half of a London evening
A magician works the reception. A mentalist carries the part after dinner, when three hundred people are seated and looking the same way.
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.
London audiences see a great deal of live work, which raises the bar in one specific way: the method has to hold up when someone in the front row is a producer. Nothing is planted, and no guest is briefed beforehand.
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.
Magic in action
When your brand becomes part of the show
For a corporate evening the material can carry your own content. A product, a figure from the year, the line the campaign is built on — it surfaces inside a piece, at the moment nobody is expecting it.
That turns a booked act into something that belongs to the evening. At client receptions, anniversaries and launches it gives the message a moment people can retell — which is more than a slide achieves.
It stays entertainment throughout. Nothing tips over into a sales pitch, and no guest feels marketed to.
Oliver Henke travels to London from Germany and also performs as a magician in Manchester, in Liverpool and in Dublin.
The questions we are asked most often
What kind of magic does Oliver Henke perform in London?
Two formats, or both in one evening. Close up he works the room itself — reception, tables, the networking hour – at the reception, at the tables or during networking, with cards, coins and borrowed objects. On stage he combines interactive magic with mind reading, so the whole room shares one highlight. Every show is built around your occasion, your guests and the running order of the evening.
Does Oliver Henke perform his show in English?
Yes. Oliver Henke performs the complete programme in English as well as in German, and all planning, contracts and correspondence for London are handled in English. Because the magic works through the guests themselves – their hands, their choices, their reactions – it carries an international audience easily.
Where in London does Oliver Henke perform?
Wherever your event takes place: a private members’ club in Mayfair, a livery hall in the City, a hotel ballroom in the West End or a conference at ExCeL London – the setting changes, the magic does not. Close-up magic needs no stage and no technical set-up at all, which makes it work in rooms where a conventional show act would not fit.
Can I book a magician in London for a corporate event?
Corporate work is the bulk of the diary: Christmas parties, summer parties, awards dinners, conferences, trade fairs, client evenings, product launches and anniversaries. On request your products, brand messages or the central theme of the event are woven into the performance: surprising, high quality and never like an advertising presentation.
What does a magician in London cost?
Four things move the fee: how long, how many guests, which venue and which format – close-up magic during the reception, a stage show, or a combination of both. Travel and accommodation are quoted as a fixed amount, so nothing is added afterwards. Send the occasion, the date and the rough setting and you will receive an individual quote, usually within 24 hours.
Oliver Henke is based in Germany – how does a booking for London work?
Much like a local booking, with one extra line in the quote. You enquire, you receive a written offer in English, and travel to London and accommodation are already included in the agreed price. Oliver Henke has been performing internationally for over 20 years and plans his arrival with enough buffer to be on site long before your guests are.
What does he need on site – stage, sound or lighting?
Close up needs nothing from the venue — no stage, no sound desk, no lighting change, no set-up window. For the stage show a microphone, a sound system and a performance area of roughly four by three metres are enough; a technical rider is sent with the confirmation. Anything unusual about your venue can be discussed in advance.
How far in advance should I book a magician in London?
December dates and summer Saturdays go early; for those, months of lead time is realistic – those dates go first. Everything else is often possible at much shorter notice, and checking availability costs nothing. If your date is already fixed, ask early; if it is still open, Oliver Henke will tell you which dates are free.
Do not just book a magician, book an experience.
Send me the occasion, the date and roughly where in London it happens — that is enough to start. You will get a personal, no-obligation proposal quickly.
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