Most people searching for magic shows UK-wide want one of two things: a night out with tickets, or an act for their own stage. Jay & Joss cover both. They've played theatres from Shropshire to the south coast, spent three years performing to family crowds at Butlin's, and are regulars at the Royal Variety Aftershow Party. This page is the record of where they've been, and what's coming.
On this page
Summer 2026: It's Not a Game on the road
Their own production went out for six and a bit weeks over the summer of 2026, twenty-nine performances at 28 theatres. Shrewsbury's Theatre Severn had the first night; New Brighton's Floral Pavilion had the last. Winchester and Welwyn Garden City got a second night each.
In between, the dates took in places like Brecon (Theatr Brycheiniog), Poole's Lighthouse, Malvern, Blackpool's Grand, Lowestoft's Marina Theatre and Leeds City Varieties. Halifax, Hastings, Worthing, Watford, Tunbridge Wells, Chelmsford and the Key Theatre in Peterborough were on the run too.
Fine Entertainments put the money and the marketing behind it, with Ryan Simons as writer and Alex Moran producing. Audiences stood up at the end. That run is now over, and the next set of dates is being worked on.
Inside the touring show
Think of it as a story first. The world on stage is futuristic and going wrong, the tech keeps glitching, there's an AI helper named Debra, and the audience gets to make choices that change the route through the night.
Then the illusions. A countdown clock and a big video wall setting the pace. Lasers, flames and projected smoke. People pulled up from the seats. A box of water fixed over one performer's head. And a finale called "Jaws of Death", with the pair strapped into straitjackets and dangling head-down beneath an enormous mechanical bear trap that's ticking towards shut.
Venues listed it at roughly two hours, interval included. It wasn't made only for children, but it was aimed squarely at families, teenagers and anyone who's into magic.
Want them in your town? Tell us.
Check a dateThree seasons at Butlin's
Before the tour, there was Butlin's. Every resort, 2022 to 2024, at 250 performances a year. Their show there was called Imagination, and it had the same ingredients people now associate with them: projections, lasers, blades, spikes and fire, building to a big dangerous finish.
That's an enormous number of family audiences. Doing that night after night is how the act learned to hold a mixed room, and it's a big part of why the touring show worked for families.
Imagination travelled beyond the resorts as well. Wicksteed Park booked four performances across 17 and 18 February 2025, and to mark the visit Jay & Joss made Merlin, the park's train, disappear.
The showreel
Other stages worth knowing about
A few more you might come across if you're digging into their live history. Not every one of their magic shows UK audiences have seen was on a big stage, and some of these were very different nights:
- West End Magic, which bills itself as London's longest-running theatre magic show, when it toured to Norwich in September 2022.
- The Royal Variety Aftershow Party, an annual fixture for them.
- School of Hard Tricks on BBC Three (2020). They were among the magicians who taught six strangers enough to perform in a sold-out theatre.
- A charity night in April 2021 raising money for young people supported by the Huntington's Disease Association.
- The Virtual Experience, the lockdown version of their act for audiences at home in 2021.
Theatres: let's talk about dates.
Get a quoteLive magic shows UK theatres can book
Programmers looking for family magic shows UK audiences recognise from the telly should get in touch. Jay & Joss bring four yeses from Britain's Got Talent in 2024, a Penn & Teller: Fool Us appearance, and a production that has already been through 28 venues and closed to standing ovations.
We're happy to talk through what's planned next and how a date at your venue could work. Send us the venue, the capacity and the kind of window you have in mind. There's more for theatre programmers on a page of its own.
A practical point: the touring production uses fire, lasers and pyrotechnics, so it suits receiving houses that are used to effects-heavy shows. If your building has particular restrictions, mention them at the start. Better to know before anyone's pencilled in a date than after.
Why the touring background matters to you
There are lots of magic shows UK venues could put on. What's harder to find is an act that has carried a whole evening on its own, in proper theatres, night after night, with a full creative team behind it. Neal Austin was in charge of the illusions, Tom Elderfield advised on the magic, and Ben Parsons and Andrew Crofts handled music and lighting.
That's not a small-scale act scaled up for the night. It's a theatre production, and the Magic Circle recognised the work behind it when it named them Champions of Stage Illusion in 2024.
Or bring the show to your own event.
Enquire nowCatching them right now
For the moment, you'd need a cruise ticket. In 2026 they're at sea in AGT: Live on Stage, which is the first Got Talent show to run on a cruise ship (Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas), as part of its very first cast.
Back on dry land, new UK dates will be announced on the live page and on news before anywhere else. If there's a town you'd love them to visit, say so. It genuinely helps when we're talking to venues.
If you're comparing magic shows UK fans rate before buying tickets for the next tour, the media page is a good start. It has clips from television and the stage, so you can see the style before you commit to a night out.
Rather have them at your own event?
Plenty of people find their way here after seeing the act at a theatre or a holiday park and thinking it would suit a company do or a big party. It can. The stage material scales down for galas, award dinners and private celebrations, as long as there's a stage or clear space and a moment when everyone's watching.
Our illusion show page covers what an event version includes and what the room needs.
Want them in your town? Tell us.
Check a dateSeeing Jay & Joss live: common questions
When is the next Jay & Joss tour?
It's Not a Game wrapped up in August 2026 and more dates are coming, but nothing's been announced, so we won't guess. Watch the live page, or use the form here to ask about a particular town. Requests from a town do get passed on.
Is the theatre show OK for young children?
It was built for families, and the act spent three years playing to family audiences at Butlin's. The touring version did use pyrotechnics, strobe lighting and special effects, though, so have a word with the venue if anyone in your group is sensitive to those.
How long is the show?
The 2026 touring production ran at about two hours with the interval, going by the venues that hosted it. Event performances are a different thing: those are agreed with whoever's organising, so the length depends on the shape of their evening.
We run a theatre. Can we host It's Not a Game?
Talk to us. The 2026 run has finished and new dates are being planned, so now is a good moment to ask. Send the venue name, how many seats you have and the dates you're considering, and someone from the team will reply.
Do magic shows UK-wide like this work outside theatres?
Yes. Holiday resorts, a park, galas and private parties have all had versions of it. What it needs is a stage or a decent bit of clear floor, people sat down, and a point in the evening where nobody's distracted. Tell us about the space and we'll be honest about the fit.
Where can I watch them before buying a ticket?
Their Britain's Got Talent audition from 2024 and the Fool Us routine from 2021 are the best-known clips, and the media page collects video from the stage too. For the behind-the-scenes story, look up You're Doing It, a short film on how It's Not a Game came together.
Theatres and event organisers, the enquiry form here is the fastest route ([check a date](#enquiry)), or try the contact page instead. Give us the venue, a date or rough window, and how many seats or guests there are. And if you just want tickets, the live page will have the next run of UK dates as soon as they're confirmed.