What does a close up magician actually do?

A close up magician does not take a stage, get introduced or wait for the room to quieten. He walks into a group of guests already talking, performs for a few minutes using cards, coins or something a guest is holding, and moves on.

Nothing is interrupted, which is precisely why it fits events where the schedule is already full.

A typical set runs three to six minutes per group. In an hour that is roughly eight to twelve groups, depending on how mobile the room is and how much people want to keep him there.

That arithmetic is why guest numbers matter more than the length of your event when deciding how many hours to book. Two hundred guests in small clusters is a lot of clusters.

Card magic and sleight of hand with coins and small objects, mixed with mind reading moments where a guest's own choice, word or thought becomes the centre of the routine.

Material is chosen live rather than run as a fixed script. A group of colleagues at a corporate dinner and a group of relatives at a wedding need different pacing, and the whole advantage of close up work is being able to change tack instantly.

Nothing. No stage, no microphone, no lighting change, no power, no table. That is why close up magic works in barns, marquees, restaurants, function rooms and living rooms equally well.