Magician and mentalist in Manchester — Oliver Henke
Modern magic for Manchester
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 Manchester and across Greater Manchester and the North West.
20+ years of experience · 1,500+ events · English & German · Booking across Europe
You are not booking a trick — you are booking a moment
Most evenings are organised well enough. What lasts past the weekend is narrower: the moment at one table that nobody sitting there can explain.
For more than twenty years that has been Oliver Henke’s work — close up between the tables, and on stage as a mentalist who can quiet a room of several hundred.
✓ Premium entertainment: Equally suited to a converted mill and to a private dinner.
✓ Personal, never off the shelf: Each performance is built for the evening it belongs to, not repeated from the last one.
✓ Interactive: Your guests shuffle, choose and decide. They are participants, not spectators.
Magic right among your guests
This is not something watched from across a room. It happens on the table in front of your guests, and usually in their own hands.
He moves through the evening in short sets — a few minutes with a group, then on, leaving them explaining it to each other. The props are cards, coins and whatever is already on the table, plus the choices the guests make.
At company parties, awards dinners, networking evenings and weddings in Manchester this creates a very particular dynamic: people laugh together, start talking to each other and share something that connects them.
No stage, no distance, no build-up. It happens in the middle of the room.
The second half
The mentalist half of a Manchester evening
A magician works the reception. A mentalist carries the part after dinner, once the room is 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.
Manchester venues are often converted mills with hard walls. The stage half is built for a floor and a microphone, not a fitted theatre.
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.
The right format for every occasion
Close-up magic
At the reception, between courses or during the networking hour — close up, with no demands on the venue.
Stage show + mind reading
The moment the whole room shares: interactive magic and mind reading, placed where your programme needs it.
Close-up + stage show
Close up while people arrive, then one stage piece for the whole room.
Magic for special events in Manchester
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.
Magic in action
When your brand becomes part of the show
At a company event your own material can be part of it. A product, a number from the year, the line the campaign is built on — it appears inside a piece, where nobody is looking for it.
That changes a booked act into part of the evening. At client events, anniversaries and launches it gives the message a form people repeat rather than forget.
It remains entertainment throughout — nothing turns into a pitch, and nobody feels advertised to.
Oliver Henke travels to Manchester from Germany and also performs as a magician in Liverpool, in Dublin and in London.
The questions we are asked most often
What kind of magic does Oliver Henke perform in Manchester?
Two formats, or both in one night. Close up he works the room — reception, tables, the part of the evening when people move around – 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 Manchester 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 Manchester does Oliver Henke perform?
Wherever your event takes place: a warehouse venue in the Northern Quarter, a studio event at MediaCity in Salford, a hotel in Spinningfields or a conference at Manchester Central – 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 Manchester for a corporate event?
Company events are the core of the diary: Christmas parties, summer events, 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 Manchester cost?
Four things decide the fee: duration, guest numbers, venue and 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 Manchester 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 Manchester 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 requires nothing from the venue — no stage, no sound, no lighting change, no set-up. 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 Manchester?
December and summer Saturdays book out early — for those, several months 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.
Tell me the occasion, the date and roughly where in Manchester — that is enough to start. You will get a personal, no-obligation proposal quickly.
