Magic the whole family watches

A good family magic show has a tricky job. The kids on the front row want something big and loud, the parents want something they can't work out, and grandad wants to be impressed despite himself. Jay & Joss spent 2022 to 2024 doing exactly that, 250 shows a year across every Butlin's resort, so they know how a mixed-age crowd behaves before the first illusion even starts.

What three years at Butlin's actually taught them

Holiday park audiences are honest. Nobody bought a ticket weeks ago and talked themselves into loving it; they wandered in after tea with a toddler on one hip and a teenager glued to a phone. If the show doesn't grab them, they leave. So the act Jay & Joss built there had to earn attention from the first minute and keep it.

Their Butlin's show, Imagination, ran at resorts including Bognor Regis and Minehead. Butlin's own listing describes projections, lasers, spikes, blades, fire and a "death-defying finale". That's the scale of family magic show we mean. Not a table of props and a magic wand, but proper stage illusion pitched so a six-year-old and a sixty-year-old are both leaning forward.

Is this a kids magic show or a family magic show?

Family, and the difference matters when you're booking. Jay & Joss are a stage illusion act. They don't do balloon modelling or party games, and they aren't the right call for a dozen four-year-olds in a living room. If that's what you need, tell us and we'll be straight with you.

Where they shine is a mixed audience watching together: children, teenagers and adults in the same seats, all getting something out of it. Kids get the spectacle and the chance to be picked as a helper. Adults get illusions built by two Associates of The Inner Magic Circle, which is a different level of puzzle altogether.

One more honest note. Their 2026 theatre show, It's Not a Game, was pitched at teenagers and up, with strobe, pyrotechnics and a darker story about artificial intelligence. Brilliant night out, but not a children's show. The family work is its own thing.

Volunteers are half the fun

Ask any parent what their child remembers from a magic show and it's usually the moment someone from the audience went up on stage. Jay & Joss build that into every family magic show. Volunteers come up, take part in the illusions and become the story everyone retells in the car on the way home.

They're careful about it, too. Years of picking helpers from Butlin's crowds means they can read who's desperate to be chosen and who'd rather hide under the seat. Nobody gets dragged up who doesn't want to be there, and the kid who does get picked comes back to their family as a small celebrity.

Imagination: show teaser

The day they made a train disappear

In February 2025 Jay & Joss brought Imagination to Wicksteed Park for four shows over two days. To mark it, they made Merlin, the park's own train, vanish in front of a live audience of staff and park-goers. It was filmed as a single one-take video and picked up by ITV News.

That's a good example of how booking a family magic show can work beyond the performance itself. A park or attraction gets the performances, plus a moment that families talk about and local press want to cover. If you run a venue and fancy something along those lines, it can be discussed when you enquire.

Where a family magic show works best

The places we'd suggest Jay & Joss for are the ones with a proper audience and a shared moment:

• Holiday parks and resorts looking for a headline evening show for families
• Attractions and theme parks running a school-holiday event or a launch day
• Festivals and family days with a stage or tent where people sit down to watch
• Company family days where staff bring partners and children along
• Big private family events, such as a milestone birthday or an anniversary with three generations in the room

Booking a family magic show: what to tell us

The show uses bigger kit than a close-up magician, and some of it involves fire, lasers and blades, so the room matters. When you enquire, tell us your date and venue, roughly how many people you expect, plus the split of adults and children if you know it.

Then the practical bits. Is there a stage, or just clear floor space? Roughly how big is it? Indoors or outdoors? Where does the audience sit? A couple of phone photos of the space help more than a long description. From there the team can say what's possible and come back with availability.

If it's a London family event, or anywhere else in the UK, the same questions apply. Pop the details into the [enquiry form](#enquiry) and we'll take it from there.

Built for big audiences, with the kit to match

Jay & Joss aren't only performers. They work as illusion consultants and design illusions for other people's shows. In 2025 they made Stephen Mulhern disappear on a motorbike in his Butlin's show and bring him back at the back of the hall, and the same year they were credited as illusion designers on the theatre tour The Void.

For a family booking that means the illusions are made properly and made to be seen from the back of a big room. It also means that if you want a moment built around your venue, mascot or event theme, it's a conversation worth having early.

Who's behind the family show

Jay is Jamie Docherty, Joss is Lewis Joss, and the two have been married since 2023 and on stage together since 2012. Families may know them from Britain's Got Talent in 2024, when the judges became part of a wedding-themed illusion, or from Lorraine on ITV the same year. You can read more on the Britain's Got Talent page.

In 2024 they also picked up The Magic Circle's title of Champions of Stage Illusion. Their full story is on the biography page, and Butlin's has a page about their Imagination show.

Booking a family show: common questions

What age is the family show suitable for?

It's built for mixed audiences, so children, teenagers and adults watching together. There are moments with fire and sharp props, all performed by the act, and loud, bright effects. If your crowd is mostly very young children, mention it when you enquire so the team can tell you honestly whether it's the right fit.

Can children come up on stage?

Yes, volunteers are a big part of how Jay & Joss perform for families. They pick helpers from the audience and look after them while they're up there. Nobody is made to take part. Kids who want a go usually make that very obvious, which helps.

Do you need a stage?

A stage is ideal, but clear floor space with the audience seated can work. What matters is that everyone can see and that there's room for the larger illusions. Send us the rough size of the space and a couple of photos and the team will tell you what they'd need.

Can they do an outdoor family day or festival?

Tell us about it. A covered stage or a big tent where people sit down to watch is a very different setup from an open field with people wandering past. Give us the layout and expected numbers and the team will come back with what's workable and whether the date is free.

Can you book a family magic show in London?

Yes. London is no different from anywhere else in the UK: it comes down to the date and the space. A family magic show in a London hotel ballroom, a school hall or a marquee in a park each needs different things, so tell us the venue and the team will check what fits.

Is it the same show they did at Butlin's?

The family work comes from the same place: years of performing Imagination to Butlin's audiences. What you get at your event depends on your space and audience, so it's best discussed when you enquire rather than promised on a web page.

If you're planning a family day, a holiday park season or a big family celebration, start with the basics: your date, the venue, roughly how many people and the age mix. Add a photo of the space if you can. Send it through the [enquiry form](#enquiry) or the contact page. You'll hear back about availability and what Jay & Joss would need to make it work.