I'm wanting to find a "mind reader"-type magician I saw perform a year
or two ago as I would like to hire him for a corporate event I'm
organising.  It was at a function in London at Claridges Hotel in
Mayfair and he was going around the guests during the drinks and then
he did something at each table a bit like a magician except that he
was doing mind reading instead of card tricks.

Things I remember about him:
* His name was either Marc or Mark or maybe Mike?
* He was from New Zealand. I remember because I noticed his accent and
asked him if he was Australian; whoops!  He was now living in the UK.
* Doing this was his full time profession, and he seemed to be fairly
top-flight; he had just returned from working in Monaco for a F1
driver during the grand prix (this was about 18 months or so ago.)
* He was getting people to do things like draw a picture and then he
would tell them what they had drawn, and telling people what shape or
colour they would choose.  Quite freaky - he said it was more
psychological than psychic.

I've done some UK-only google searches for things like "mind reader
magician marc" and came across a couple of people called "Marc Paul"
and "Marc Lemzema" but looking at the video on there sites they don't
seem to be from New Zealand and although Marc Paul looks about the
right age its not him.  The Lemzema fellow is too old.  Could hire
them I gues but would rather see if I can find the guy I have already
seen first.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Hi nasser_k,

I believe the man you are looking for is Mark Cairns.

From Wikipedia:
Mark Cairns (March 28, 1970?) is an UK based magician and mentalist.

"Cairns was born and raised in New Zealand. Unusually for a performer,
he did not develop an interest in magic until his late 20's, when he
acquired and refined basic sleight-of-hand conjuring skills over the
course of a year while travelling in West Asia and the Middle East. On
his return to his home country, Cairns served his performing
apprentiship in Wellington, working part-time as a magician for
corporate audiences, launches and charity events."
(...)
"Not well known amongst the general public, Cairns primarily performs
in corporate and society circles where he is known for an
intellectually engaging yet informal one-on-one approach to his craft.
Although he primarily performs in the UK, Cairns has also performed in
Dubai, Antwerp, and Monaco for corporate clients, celebrities and
local royalty."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Cairns


Official website of Mark Cairns:
http://www.markcairns.co.uk/index.htm


Contact information:
Mark Cairns
Close Up Entertainment 
Phone: 01491 651 606 
Mobile: 07 814 024 236 
Email: mindreading@markcairns .co.uk 

http://www.markcairns.co.uk/contact.htm


Search criteria:
"mind reader" "mark *" uk "new zealand"

I hope this is helpful. If you have any questions regarding my answer
please don?t hesitate to ask before rating it.

Best wishes,
Rainbow

That is exactly the guy.  Recognised him as soon as I saw the photos
on his website.  Have just called him and booked him.  (Just like
that!)

Thanks for the help, Rainbow - you must be a mind reader yourself to
have found him so quickly!

Best wishes,
Nas

Thank you very much for the rating and tip.
Best wishes,
Rainbow

Just to say, since following up on this, I booked Mark to come and
perform and he was just freaky!  Thanks for helping me find him -
highly recommended.

Thank you very much for the update. I'm glad it all worked out.
Best wishes,
Rainbow