It is a question i’m often asked and the answer is that it very much depends on the style of magician and also the type of party it is re numbers, type of arena i.e. home or hall and quite a few other factors too.

I tend to suggest i start at 5 and any age over that right up to the oldest adult is good. I know some magicians who love performing to young children and hate it when they get above seven  as their material and patter is very mych aimed at young children. Other Magicians i know just don’t like performing to children at all, they like a more predictable, reliable audience who stay in one place and rarely heckle in a way only children can.

I tend to like it best when there is a manageable amount of children so i love living rooms or intimate venues and i like adults there as well. I like to involve them as well as the children in the show, that way the children behave differently, the adults are there for humour to land on and it always helps when everyone there is engaged in and is enjoying the show.

I try and include effects and routines to dazzle everyone from the youngest child to the oldest adult and the adults find the comic interactions with the children very amusing.

I do perform my Magic show to just children sometimes and just adults sometimes but i find it’s preferable with a mix of the two. I find both children and adults enjoy the show more when both are present, the children feed of the adults laughing at the jokes and the adults love the reaction of the children to the tricks and illusions.

I also vary the show depending on audience in front of me. I do have certain tricks and routines that are especially suitable for very young children when the situation demands and i also have some devastating card tricks and other more sophisticated mind reading and sleight of hand for older children and adults. It has to be said that most children nine and upwards pretty well are like an adult audience really in terms of the sort of tricks they appreciate and even 7/8year olds you can include in that a lot of the time.

An audience of children can be a lot more challenging than any adult audience can ever be so as a children’s entertainer you have to be used to that. You must be able to control a room of children, deal with what can be a barrage of heckling and really be able to dominate an audience in a wide variety of situations.

If you can do that well though you really can make a children’s party or a family event pretty special and that is what as a Magician you aim to do.

In the right situation a Magic show can be spectacular, funny, mind boggling and really bring any celebration to another level, often creating memories that can last a lifetime.