Entertaining Aboard the Thames at Night
Standing on the deck of a private Thames cruise at night, watching London drift slowly past around you, genuinely feels surreal.
The reflections of city lights across the water. The low hum of conversations between guests.
Tower Bridge glowing in the distance while the skyline slowly shifts beside the boat.
Several years ago I was hired to provide close-up mentalism and psychological entertainment aboard a private Thames cruise for senior international guests attending a corporate networking event in London.
Even now, it remains one of the most visually beautiful environments I’ve ever worked in.
Performing Alongside a Mentor at Gleneagles
There are certain moments in your career that feel quietly significant whilst they are happening.
Not because thousands of people are watching.
Not because cameras are rolling.
Not because the event itself is necessarily the largest you’ve ever performed.
But because somewhere deep down you realise you’ve arrived at a moment you once only imagined from a distance.
From Virtual Performances to Brussels - Returning to Live Corporate Events in Europe
Like many performers, March 2020 changed everything almost overnight.
One by one, corporate bookings disappeared from the calendar. Conferences were postponed indefinitely, gala dinners vanished and international travel came to a complete standstill. Entire industries suddenly found themselves trying to work out how to operate in a world where people could no longer gather together in person.
Live entertainment simply stopped.
Networking, Noise & Mind Reading at the OXO Tower
London networking events have a very particular kind of energy.
They begin politely enough. Small conversations over drinks. Name badges. Business cards. Groups standing slightly too formally around tables pretending not to scan the room for people they recognise.
Then slowly, over the course of the evening, the atmosphere changes.
People relax.
Conversations loosen.
Laughter becomes louder.
The room begins to breathe properly.
What BIBA Taught Me About Trade Show Entertainment
One of the biggest misconceptions about exhibition entertainment is that it exists purely to create noise.
Good trade show entertainment should do far more than simply attract a crowd.
It should create conversations.
Introduce opportunities.
Generate momentum.
And ultimately help companies connect with the right people.
That became particularly clear to me while working at the BIBA Conference and Exhibition in Manchester for Proximo Ltd.
The Night I Realised Mentalism Could Be More Than Entertainment
There are certain performances that stay with you long after the applause fades.
Not necessarily because they were the largest audiences or the highest fees, but because something shifted internally whilst you were there.
One such evening for me took place high above Canary Wharf during a corporate event for KPMG.
Even now, years later, I can still remember the feeling of standing inside that building looking out across London at night.
It genuinely felt like the city stretched on forever.
When Two People Experience the Same Performance Completely Differently
One of the most fascinating things about performing professionally for long enough is realising that audiences rarely experience the same performance in exactly the same way.
Two people can witness the exact same words, moments and demonstrations, yet walk away feeling entirely differently about what they have just seen.
Sometimes the difference is subtle.
Occasionally, it is impossible to ignore.
Performing at The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice Annual Ball
One of the strangest things about working as a performer is where enquiries sometimes arrive.
I still vividly remember receiving the booking request for The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice Annual Ball while sitting in a hotel restaurant in Columbus, Ohio.
Outside, the temperature was close to minus twenty degrees as I prepared material for a lecture at Penguin Magic in the United States. Meanwhile, several thousand miles away, an enquiry had landed in my inbox asking if I would fly to Scotland to perform at a major charity gala in Edinburgh.
What I Learned Running a Corporate Wellbeing Workshop
Most people associate my work with corporate events, conferences, trade shows and after-dinner performances.
So when First Response Finance approached me about delivering part of their internal wellbeing programme, it immediately caught my attention because it was something completely different.
Not just another performance.
A workshop.
And honestly, that excited me.
Performing at a Rooftop Corporate Event in Barcelona
One of the most surreal parts of working as a professional mentalist is occasionally finding yourself standing in places you never imagined work would take you.
For me, Barcelona was one of those moments.