Corporate Entertainment in Christchurch

Comedy magician, mentalist and MC for conferences, corporate nights, client functions and private events

Brendan Dooley performing at a gala dinner in Christchurch

Christchurch is home, and it is where the whole thing started.

Brendan grew up here and built a career here, from the first shows as a kid through to the rooms that turned it into a profession. He still calls the city home base, even with most of the year now spent on the road and overseas.

Which means a Christchurch booking comes with something the other cities do not get. He knows the venues, he knows the room before he walks into it, and there is nobody more pleased to be working in front of a hometown crowd!

These days most of the work is elsewhere, around the country and overseas, but Christchurch dates still land in the diary through the year and they are some of his favourites. Conferences, corporate and association nights, client functions, end of year events and private celebrations across Christchurch and Canterbury. 1,500+ shows in 15+ countries behind him, including headlining at the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood and on luxury cruise lines worldwide.

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What a Christchurch booking can look like

Cocktail magic and mindreading. Working the room up close and personal during arrival drinks or between courses. World class modern magic and insane mindreading, happening inches away in guests’ own hands and right inside their heads! Casual conversations turn into mini spectacles, names get learned and remembered along the way, and a room of people who arrived in their own little groups ends up talking to each other. Everyone walks away with an impossible personal story attached to your event.

Event MC Christchurch. Stepping in as your main man on the ground, keeping the event flowing and the energy high from the first welcome to the final thank you. Having met your people through the room earlier, the hosting comes from someone who knows who is who, introducing your key players properly, making your guests feel like rockstars and steering the night where it needs to go, with backup plans from B to Z for whatever the evening throws up!

The Signature Show. Now we bring together the ultimate joint experience! A feature set built from material you will not see anywhere else, blending modern magic, quick witted comedy, insane mindreading, cheeky pickpocketing and dexterous stunts into a fully interactive experience that will not be soon forgotten. It features material regularly performed as a headliner at the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood and on luxury cruise lines worldwide, and because half the room has already met him, the whole night lands as one shared experience rather than entertainment tacked on the end.

Most events use more than one of these, often all three across a single night. Nothing is run against a clock, so the evening gets shaped around your run sheet rather than the other way around.

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Every kind of room in the city

Corporate dinner show for a full room

Christchurch throws up more variety than most places, and the night has to be built for the room it is actually in.

A large conference dinner at Te Pae is a different job from an intimate function beside the river, which is different again from a summer night at a winery out in the Canterbury countryside. Different acoustics, different sightlines, different energy, different amount of wine in the room by the time the formal part starts!

Having worked all of them, the planning call covers exactly what your venue needs, right down to whether a microphone is required at all.

The kinds of nights this suits

Close up magic for a guest at a Christchurch corporate function

Conferences and association events. The dinner is where the networking actually happens on a multi day programme, and where a room of people from different organisations turns into a room that is talking to each other.

Corporate and awards nights. Hosting and entertainment from one person, so the awards keep their moment and the room stays with you from the first category to the last.

Client networking functions. A harder room than it looks, because guests know they have been invited by a company that wants their business and most of them do not know each other. Cocktail magic gives your team an easy reason to bring people together and hands everyone a shared moment to talk about, which is still worth referencing in a follow up email weeks later.

End of year functions. The one night of the year that is purely about your team feeling properly looked after.

Private celebrations. Milestone birthdays, anniversaries and weddings, handled with the same care as the corporate work and with discretion where it is wanted.

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What clients say

“We are beyond happy with Brendan’s service at our end of year function. He was engaging, approachable, professional and left an imprint on all that attended. In all my years of organising end of year events and corporate functions I’ve never received this level of positive feedback. Our team were talking about Brendan’s magic for weeks. His show wasn’t only engaging, it felt personal. He remembered people’s names from earlier in the night when he mingled with the crowd, which made them feel special, and his banter through the show was on point. 100% book him and prepare to be WOWED!”

Kiwi Property

“Phenomenal. Without Brendan, these two back-to-back conferences and award nights would not have been the roaring successes that they were! His humour, organisational skills and insane magic kept the event flowing and the audience engaged. The event went from a little unsure to connected, enthused and absolutely together. One attendee even grabbed the mic for an impromptu thank you followed by a standing ovation! We’ve already locked him in for next year in Australia before the event had even ended. Don’t hesitate, just hire him!”

Mike Pero Group

“Brendan is world class, memorable and so connecting! From the communication in the lead up to the delivery, he was the ultimate professional. I hung up from my first phone call with him and thought, he gets it, this is our guy to lead our event on the night. He delivered and then so much more. I have never had such amazing feedback from an event and I have been in the events industry for 20+ years. Our board members commented how much he felt like he was part of our team!”

Rotorua Hospice

“Brendan’s performance at the Gala Award Dinner brought our guests together by creating a shared experience full of laughter, surprise and engagement. His captivating magic and witty humour broke the ice, allowing everyone to relax, connect and enjoy the evening more deeply. He was incredibly engaging, wonderful on stage, and connected brilliantly with all of our conference attendees. We feel so lucky to have had him with us and he will be back!”

Stonewood Homes

“Brendan was so easy to deal with and delivered on every level. Professional, fun and brought something really different to the night. His magic and energy stood out immediately, instantly engaging people. It just made the whole event feel more connected.”

Private VIP dinner

Christchurch and Canterbury venues

Conference centres and hotel ballrooms. Riverside and inner city function rooms. Wineries and country venues across Canterbury. Private homes.

Venues worked include Te Pae, the Town Hall, Wolfbrook Arena, the Arts Centre, the Air Force Museum, Rydges, Crowne Plaza, The George and Peppers Clearwater, just to name a few. Private celebrations have taken him everywhere from Mona Vale to private homes across the city.

Everything from a large conference dinner through to a function of twenty people, so the night is built around the room you have rather than a set routine.

Frequently Asked Questions

Christchurch is home base and where Brendan grew up, though a large chunk of the year is spent on the road, working throughout New Zealand and internationally. Dates down here get looked after the same as anywhere else.

Yes, and they make for great nights. There are a few practical considerations around sound, lighting and the weather, all of which get sorted in the planning call well before the day.

Yes, and it usually works better than booking separately. The room has already met him during the drinks, so the hosting lands warmer and there is one less act for you to coordinate on the night.

Three to six months for most corporate events, and earlier for October through December. Annual conferences and awards nights are often locked in a year or more ahead. Last minute enquiries are always worth an ask, because diaries change.

Yes. Milestone birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and private dinners, with the same curated approach as the corporate events.

A microphone, sound the whole room can hear clearly, and a clear view of the front from every seat. Lighting on the stage area lifts the energy more than most people expect. Smaller rooms often need nothing at all. The rest gets sorted in the planning call.

Planning an event in Christchurch?

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