Stilt walker hire in Australia: the complete guide

A stilt walker is the only act that guests notice from the far side of a car park. That visibility is the entire product: they turn an entrance into an event, they photograph well from any angle, and children who wouldn't cross a room to see a magician will follow a three metre character around all afternoon.

They also have the strictest physical requirements of anything you can book, and none of them are negotiable on the day. What the stilt acts here charge is shown below, taken live from their listings. Before you compare them, read the next two sections, because the venue decides whether this booking works at all.

The live spread by city is set out below. Roving is usually sold in blocks of one or two hours, and a second performer is rarely double the price of the first, since one trip and one preparation covers them both. Two stilt walkers working as a pair also cover a large site far better than one does.

Costume drives more of the price than the walking does. A custom built character with lights, wings or a full body suit represents months of making and constant repair, and it's the reason two performers on the same stilts can quote very differently. Look at the photographs and you'll usually see where the money went.

Measure it before you enquire. A performer on stilts stands somewhere between two and a half and three and a half metres, and they need clear air above that for headdresses and arm movement. Standard indoor ceilings, low beams, ceiling fans, chandeliers, pendant lights, air conditioning ducts, decorative festoon lighting and marquee cross braces all end the act.

Doorways matter as much as ceilings. A stilt walker cannot duck. Ask yourself how they get from the change room to the guests, and whether that route involves a normal door, and you'll often discover the performance area is fine but the path to it isn't. Send the performer a photo of the space and the route. They've solved this problem hundreds of times.

Stilts need a firm, level, dry surface. Smooth concrete, timber, indoor flooring and compacted paths are all fine. Soft grass, sand, loose gravel, garden beds, wet tiles and steep driveways are not, and neither are cattle grates, expansion joints or the gap at the top of a ramp. Steps are out entirely.

Wind is the underrated risk. A tall costume is a sail, and a gusty open site can make a routine unsafe when the surface underneath it is perfect. Any experienced performer will call this themselves and move to a sheltered position. Trust them when they do, and have a plan B spot ready rather than arguing about the one on your run sheet.

Getting on and off stilts needs a raised surface, a sturdy table, a stage edge, a ute tray or a solid chair on flat ground, plus a few metres of clear space. It's not a quick thing. Budget fifteen to twenty minutes each way and a private area, because a performer strapping into stilts in front of the guests loses half the effect before they start.

Most also need a spotter, and the professional ones bring their own or ask you to nominate someone. Working ninety minutes on stilts is hard physical labour, so expect a break roughly every forty five minutes, water at ground level and a chair high enough to rest on without coming down. Put those in the plan and you get a better performance for the same money.

Arrivals, queues and big open spaces. A stilt walker at the door greeting guests, a pair working a festival crowd, characters roving through a shopping centre or a fete, a themed pair matched to a corporate party. Anywhere people are walking, waiting or spread out, a tall visible performer does work that a seated act cannot.

They're much weaker at anything requiring intimacy or a captive seated audience. Nobody does close up work from three metres. And in a packed indoor function room they can end up stuck in a corner looking decorative, which is a lot of money for a photo opportunity. Match the act to the space and it earns its fee easily.

What height are you on stilts, including the headdress? What minimum ceiling clearance do you need? What surfaces will you not walk on? How long do you need to get ready, and where? And do you carry public liability cover, and can you email the certificate to us and the venue?

On that last one, ask the performer directly. We list acts and we don't verify insurance, permits or qualifications, so the certificate has to come from them. A working roving performer will have one ready, because the councils and shopping centres they work for ask every time.