Coffee's served. Now the show.

The hardest slot at any gala is the one straight after the meal. People are full, a bit merry and turning their chairs towards their own table. Good after dinner entertainment pulls every one of those chairs back round. Jamie Docherty and Lewis Joss, the double act known as Jay & Joss, bring illusions on a big scale: flames, lasers, projections, and stunts with blades and spikes, built to grab a seated room and hold it.

Where the show sits in your running order

Most events put it in one of three places, and each has its reasons. Have a think about which suits your night before you enquire, because it changes how the room should be set up.

Whichever you pick, the rule is the same: it goes in a slot where nobody is eating, nobody is being served and the bar queue isn't the main event. Waiting staff crossing in front of the stage mid-illusion is the quickest way to lose a room.

• After the main, before the awards. Wakes everyone up and gives the host an easy handover into the first category.
• After the last award, before the band or DJ. A proper finale that sends people onto the dance floor buzzing.
• Between dessert and coffee on a dinner with no awards. The show becomes the centrepiece of the evening.

Why stage illusion works as after dinner entertainment

A close-up magician at a gala is lovely, but only ten people at a time see it. After dinner entertainment needs everyone watching the same thing at once, so the room has one shared story to tell at breakfast. That's what a stage illusion does.

And this isn't a quiet card routine scaled up. In 2024 The Magic Circle named the pair its Champions of Stage Illusion. The show is visual from the first minute, with fire coming from their hands and blades close enough to make the front tables lean back. People at table 30 see it as clearly as people at table 1, which is the whole point.

It also plays well to a room that's had a few drinks. Nobody needs to follow a long patter or remember which card they picked. They just watch, wince and applaud. That's after dinner entertainment doing its job: easy to enjoy, impossible to ignore.

Round tables, long tables and sightlines

Gala rooms are usually set in rounds, which suits the show nicely. A stage at one end with rounds fanning out from it gives the best view. Seats with their backs to the stage are the only snag, and most guests will turn their chairs once the lights change.

Long banqueting tables are harder, because the people at the far end are a long way off and half of each table sits side-on. A raised stage helps a lot there. If there's no stage at all, a clear area of floor can still work, but it's worth sending a floor plan so the team can tell you where it should go.

Because the act uses fire, lasers and bigger kit, the room itself matters. Tell us the venue, whether there's a stage, roughly how big the space is and how many are seated. Photos of the room set up for a previous dinner are gold.

The showreel

Bringing guests up from the tables

Volunteers are a big part of the show. On Britain's Got Talent in 2024 the routine roped in the judging panel itself, and the four of them gave it four yeses. At a dinner it's your guests who get the call.

That's where after dinner entertainment goes from good to talked about. Getting the managing director, the chair of the charity or this year's top salesperson involved can be discussed beforehand. Equally, if certain people really shouldn't be picked, let us know and they won't be.

There's a knack to choosing volunteers at a gala. The person needs to be up for it, sober enough to walk up the steps, and someone their table will cheer for. Jamie and Lewis read the room during the evening, so by the time the show starts they've usually spotted who's going to be good fun on stage.

Working with your host and tech crew

Awards evenings run to a tight script, and the show has to slot into it without anyone scrambling. Send the running order as soon as you have it, along with the name of your production or AV contact, and the team will work out the handover with them.

Practical things worth sorting early: who introduces them, what happens to the house lights, whether the awards screens are needed during the show, and when the room needs to be clear for the stage to be set. None of it is complicated, but it all goes smoother when it's agreed the week before rather than on the night.

Start with magic at the drinks reception

Plenty of gala organisers book two parts. While guests arrive and find their table plans, Jamie and Lewis split up and do close-up magic in the crowd. It breaks the ice, and it means the stars of the later show have already been chatting to half the room. Both have their own solo sites if you want a look: Jamie Docherty and Lewis Joss.

Harry Goule had both at his event and left a Google review afterwards. His guests' feedback, he wrote, was all positive, and he rated the close-up and the stage show as high quality. For an organiser, that's the review you want to be reading the morning after.

Charity galas and black-tie dinners

Charity dinners are a natural fit. In April 2021 the pair performed at a fundraiser for the Huntington's Disease Association's Youth Engagement Service, and in December 2025 they helped raise money for a young neuroblastoma patient. A big illusion moment before the auction or the pledges can lift the energy right when you need it.

For company dinners and conferences, see the page for corporate bookers. And if you want to see what the show looks like before you commit, the media page has videos and the press kit. Committees that like to check credentials can look the pair up on the Magic Circle's own site.

Black-tie dinners bring their own small quirks: long speeches that overrun, a raffle that needs counting, a guest of the evening who wants to say a few words. After dinner entertainment that can flex by a few minutes either way, without anyone panicking, takes a lot of stress off the organiser. That's something to talk through on the phone once the date's confirmed.

Gala and awards night questions

How long is the after dinner show?

It's planned around your evening rather than a fixed set. Tell us the slot you've got in the running order, how long the awards take and when the band starts, and the team will advise on a length that fits without dragging the night.

Can they perform if the venue has no stage?

Often, yes. A clear area of floor with the audience seated in front can work. A stage is better for sightlines in a big room, though, and some of the larger pieces need space. Send the venue name and a floor plan or photos and you'll get a straight answer.

Can the show be split between courses?

It's best as one block, when service has stopped and everyone is watching together. If your night really needs two shorter moments, mention it in the enquiry and it can be discussed. Close-up magic during the reception is the usual way to add a second touch.

Will guests be brought up on stage?

Yes, volunteers from the tables are part of it. Nobody is humiliated; the volunteer usually ends up the hero of the moment. If you want a particular person involved, or kept well out of it, tell us beforehand.

Is after dinner entertainment with fire safe in a hotel ballroom?

That's exactly why we ask about the room. Venues have their own rules on flame, haze and pyrotechnics, so tell us the venue early and pass on any rules they've given you. The show is planned around what the space allows.

Ready to sort the after dinner entertainment? [Check a date](#enquiry) and fill in the form with the date, the venue, how many guests are seated, and where in the running order you'd like the show. If you already know who's hosting or which awards are being given out, add that too. Rather talk it over first? Drop a line via contact and someone will be in touch.