Performing for Portland Academy special needs school

I recently had the pleasure of performing magic to a special needs school in Sunderland called Portland Academy. The classes that I showed magic to were really excited and had a great time!

The kids were really good and patient and really enjoyed seeing the tricks. For many of them it was their first experience of seeing magic and I was amazed at how attentive and interested they all were. As soon as the magic started everyone was really engaged and afterwards they all wanted to come and have a go themselves. It was a real pleasure to be a part of their day and meet some lovely staff and children. You can read more about it on the school blog here.

Thomas helping me with a card trick

Everyone wanted to know how the coin bent!

Ryan helping me with a special trick

Chris is available for school bookings on special request. Please get in touch to check about availability. 

Performing at a corporate event in Leeds

I  had a great time performing for APL Properties at the Hilton Hotel in Leeds. 

It's always a pleasure to perform in Leeds, where I used to live, and I've been there a lot recently! This corporate event at APL Properties was a delight to be a part of. As well as having me perform close-up magic they also had a Ready, Steady, Cook style competition that resulted in some hilarious scenes.

It was a real pleasure to end the performance with a grand finale for the whole company out on the decking by the canal in glorious sunshine!

If you are interested in booking Chris for your corporate event, check out the corporate page here. 

Performing at Becky and Stuart's wedding

I had a fantastic time performing at Becky and Stuart's wedding at the Netherwood Hotel in Grange, Cumbria. 

A lot of my magic happens inside your hands

I arrived to perform at the evening reception. Everyone was pretty full from the meal and just chilling out quietly. It seemed like I arrived at the perfect time to turn up and get the energy and excitement going again for the evening party. 

Bending coins in front of people's eyes

Within no time at all, everyone was buzzing and laughing from all the excitement. I lost count of the number of 50p coins I bent. I imagine some people woke up the next day with pocketfuls of unusable coins, though no one seemed to mind...! 

The Netherwood Hotel in Grange is a lovely venue for getting married. I've performed there many times over the years at weddings as well as a corporate event and even a sixth form ball once. The staff are all fantastic and it's a pleasure to get to entertain in such a stunning hotel. 

I also got to work with photographer Ian Wood. This was my first time working with Ian but he was an absolute delight and within no time I felt like I'd known him years. All the photos on this page were taken by Ian and I am thoroughly impressed by them. I strongly recommend you check out his website as I will be recommending him to future couples. I also got to work with Ryan Iredale from Cumbria Wedding Films who did a great job of getting all the right shots. 

Ending my performance with a bang

I ended my time at the wedding with a special performance just for the Bride and Groom. I started things off with a card trick that left them with a special souvenir and then produced something magical in a literal puff of smoke (and massive ball of fire!). I can't say too much about it, other than it went down very well. These nice words were left from the lovely bride Becky.

““Chris came to our wedding to entertain our guests, and to be honest he soon felt like one of the guests himself! He put everyone at ease and made sure he saw as many people as possible. Our friends and family are still talking about his magic two weeks later.

Thanks again Chris - you were brilliant!””

— Becky Game

It really was a fabulous day and all the guests were really friendly and fun. What a pleasure!

If you are thinking of booking me for your wedding day, please pop over to the weddings page where there is plenty more information. 

Chris Cook performing corporate magic at the Lakeside Hotel

I had a great time performing close-up magic at the Lakeside Hotel for the Witherslack Group.

The Lakeside Hotel at Newby Bridge is on the shores of Lake Windermere and is a beautiful venue for weddings and private parties.

I was performing close-up magic for a corporate party ending with a big grand finale at the front. 

To book Chris for corporate events, check out the corporate magic page.

Chris Cook Magic performing at Glastonbury Festival

It's just been confirmed that I will be performing at Glastonbury 2015!

This is what happened last time I performed at a Festival...

I'm going to be performing magic and circus skills at the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts from the 24th-28th June 2015. I'll be performing in the fields with my good friends from the Fairly Famous Family. We'll be in the circus area but also roaming around doing walkabout shows across the festival.

I'm really looking forward to seeing some of the huge festival headliners like The Who, Foo Fighters and Ben Howard but I'm even more excited to see some of the alternate acts, particularly Alt-J, Nizlopi, Courtney Barnett and Belle & Sebastian. It's not just music though! There's some fantastic comedy, poetry, magic and circus happening including Dynamo, Luke Wright (my favourite poet in the world), John Cooper Clarke and Paul Currie (my new favourite absurdist comedian).

Looking forward to seeing you all in the fields!

For more info on booking Chris for festivals or events, check out the close-up magic page and get in touch!

Chris Cook performing magic at the Carus Green Wedding Fayre in Kendal

I will be performing at the Carus Green Golf Club Wedding Fair in Kendal on Sunday 29th March from 11am-4pm. 

Come along to the Carus Green Wedding Fair and find out how I can make your special day stand out from all the rest. I specialise in making sure your wedding is completely unique and unforgettable for all of your guests. Come and have a chat with me and I can show you some astonishing tricks and explain how I interact with your guests and slot into your day. 

The beautiful Carus Green Golf Club in Kendal

The Carus Green Golf Club is a stunning wedding venue in the beautiful, historic market town of Kendal in Cumbria. The venue is absolutely stunning with views right across the Cumbrian fells and perfect for golfing fans. It's right on the edge of the Lake District with great links to Windermere, Bowness, Ambleside, Keswick and Penrith as well as Lancaster, Manchester and Lancashire to the South. 

The wedding fayre is free to attend and includes a free glass of Prosecco and entry into a free prize draw. You can find the Carus Green golf club on Burneside Road in Kendal. If you'd like to attend you can contact Emma Wearing on 01539 814454 or emma@carusgreen.co.uk to confirm you're attendance. Alternatively you are more than welcome to turn up between 11am-4pm on the day. Come and find me and I can help you with any questions about your special day.

For more information on what I provide at weddings check out the wedding magic page here.

Magician Chris Cook in the news

The Westmorland Gazette have run an excellent article about my latest show, Chris Cook: Truth or Dare. 

The piece was featured on Page Two of the newspaper which is distributed all across Cumbria and the Lake District. It talks about the show and also about how I work as a wedding entertainer at events across the lakes. For more information about that check out my weddings page.

The article can be found here and has been reprinted in full below.

Kendal magician to take daring new show to the Edinburgh Festival

SPELLBINDING: Chris wants to repeat last year's Edinburgh success. Photo by Vicki Hesketh.

First published 09:40 Sunday 15 March 2015 in News by Katie Dickinson

AWARD-WINNING Kendal magician Chris Cook plans to shock audiences this summer with the first fully interactive magic show the Edinburgh Fringe Festival has ever seen.

At each of his 22 shows in August, Chris will challenge the audience to play Truth or Dare and lead them down a path of mischief and trickery.

The outcome of each trick will depend on decisions made by the audience throughout the show.

“I really don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Chris. “Every show will be very different.”

Chris has also upped the ante this year by doubling the size of his venue - he will be returning to the prestigious Voodoo Rooms but in its largest theatre, the Ballroom.

“Last year I managed to have a full house for every single show so I’m hoping I can do the same this year but with twice as many seats,” he said.

Last year’s show, Chris Cook: Charlatan was a roaring success with critics and audiences alike and this year, Chris is promising even bigger things.

“There are some tricks in this show that I don’t think anyone will have ever seen before. I can’t say too much just yet, but there are some illusions that will leave the audience on the very edge of their seat.”

Chris recently took a break from his main job as a close-up magician at weddings and events for a two-week trip travelling around Germany, Austria and Slovenia with friend and co-writer Rhys Williamson.

“Instead of sitting behind a desk and trying to write a new show, we thought we’d get inspiration and travel at the same time.

“We probably drank more beers than we should have but we had an amazing time travelling and working on new magic tricks”.

Chris Cook: Truth or Dare will be on in the Voodoo Rooms - Ballroom at midday from August 8-30. For more information see www.chriscookmagic.co.uk