Reading is one of the busiest business towns in the Thames Valley, so a lot of our work here is corporate. But it's also surrounded by gorgeous countryside venues. Tell us about your event and we'll come back with a quote.
Reading magician for Thames Valley corporate events
Reading's full of big tech, finance and professional services firms, and they host plenty of staff parties, client evenings and awards. De Vere Wokefield Estate, a few miles south of town near junction 11 of the M4, has a large conference centre and a historic mansion house for dinners and weddings.
For a corporate audience, magic does a useful job. It gets people from different teams talking, it fills the slow moments, and clients remember it. A magician at the welcome drinks, then a short stage set after dinner, covers most events nicely.
If you're entertaining clients, let us know if there's anyone you'd like the magician to make a fuss of. A quiet word beforehand goes a long way.
Weddings along the Thames
The stretch of the Thames around Reading, Sonning and Henley is popular for weddings, with riverside hotels, boathouses and marquees on the lawn. Long summer receptions by the water are lovely, but guests can end up standing around while the couple are off having photos.
That's the perfect time for a roaming magician. It keeps the energy up, gets people mixing and gives everyone a story to tell at dinner.
Town-centre venues
Reading Town Hall's Victoria Hall is an elegant room with tall windows, high ceilings and chandeliers, licensed for civil ceremonies. The Roseate Reading, the boutique hotel formerly called the Forbury Hotel, hosts weddings and private events in its restaurant and smaller rooms.
Smaller, stylish spaces like these suit close-up magic perfectly. Guests are close together, the room's intimate, and the magician can reach everyone without fuss.
Town-centre venues are also handy for guests coming by train, with Reading station only a short walk away. That makes them a good bet for corporate events where people are travelling in from London or the West.
Country estates and parties at home
Englefield House, near Theale, opens its state rooms for private and corporate events and only takes a handful of weddings a year. It's the kind of place where a quiet, elegant style of magic fits best.
Don't fancy a long, formal stage show at an estate venue? You don't need one. Twenty minutes of close-up magic per group during the reception often leaves a bigger impression.
Not everything happens in a venue. Around Reading and the villages nearby we often send magicians to parties at people's homes, in the garden or in a marquee on the lawn.
A house party is a great setting for close-up magic, because guests are relaxed and already in small groups. All the magician needs is a start time and somewhere to park.
Practical tips for Reading
The town centre's busy and parking's mostly in multi-storeys, so we confirm unloading with your venue. The M4 can be slow at peak times, which matters for weekday evening events, so we leave plenty of margin.
Reading Festival weekend in late August makes the town very busy. If your date's close to it, mention it when you enquire.
Weekday corporate events often start straight after work, which is right when the roads are worst. We'd rather our magician arrives early and has a coffee than turns up flustered.
