The best mentalists in Melbourne
Melbourne's end of year function season is what keeps this act working. A mind reading set drops into a company dinner without a changeover, needs no backing track and leaves the stage exactly as it found it, which is why conference venues with a tight schedule like it more than anything with amplifiers.
The thing to settle early is format. A seated show, and a performer moving between small groups at a standing function, are two different nights, they are priced on different logic, and a lot of performers here offer both. Name the one you want before you compare anybody.
Top picks in Melbourne
Top picks are the acts in this category in Melbourne, without a review, rating or premium ranking: all these sort keys are tied.
Questions people ask about mentalists in Melbourne
Does a mentalist work better at a seated dinner or a cocktail party?
Seated, if you have the choice. The act asks a room to concentrate on one person and follow a thought through to the end, and a standing crowd with a bar behind it will not do that for long. For a cocktail function, book the roving version instead, where the performer works small groups at a time and the same routine lands over and over across the night.
What does a mentalist need on the night in Melbourne?
Very little, which is the appeal at a city venue running to the minute. Usually a microphone that works, light on the performer's face and a small table, and no soundcheck in the ordinary sense. Ask the venue whether the house microphone is available between courses, since basement function rooms around town often have one system shared with the speeches.
Is it suitable for a work event with clients in the room?
It suits that room better than most acts, because the interest is in what your own people do rather than in the performer. The caution is the same as any audience participation show: agree in advance that nothing personal or sensitive gets aired, and say so plainly in the brief. A piece that wanders into somebody's private life leaves a mark on a workplace long after the plates are cleared.
With no reviews on this page, what should I judge them on?
Video of them working a real corporate room, with the audience visible, tells you nearly everything. Watch how they handle the person who wants to explain the trick to the table, because every Melbourne work crowd has one and the graceful answer only comes with experience. Then ask what they would build for your event specifically, and see whether the reply is about your night or a stock pitch.
Booking tips
Give the performer your run sheet
A Melbourne corporate dinner usually has speeches, an award or two and a service schedule the venue will not move. Hand over the timings and let the performer pick the slot, because a mind reading piece landing between a main course and a chief executive's thank you is the wrong shape for both.
Name anybody who must not be pulled up
The whole act runs on people participating, so a short list of who should stay in their seat is worth writing. A professional builds around it without fuss, and it costs one line in an email.
Decide how you want it framed
Some performers present the show plainly as entertainment and say so on stage, and others keep an ambiguous tone because it plays better as theatre. Neither is wrong. Ask which one is walking into your event, especially if the room is a mixed work crowd.