Jesters

Our formation jester display team in action

So, what exactly will a jester do? The idea of a capering motley buffoon whacking guests around the head with a pig's bladder tied to a stick will wear very thin extremely quickly, and more likely to end with a biff on the nose rather than general merriment. Something rather more skilled is required.

Whatever other skills they may have (see later), a Jester should be able interact intelligently with guests, make announcements and generally jolly things along. They come in all shapes, sizes and with differing ranges of skills. Just booking one without checking on what they can in fact do is rather like buying a vintage Rolls Royce to go banger racing in. You can do it, but it will end in tears before bedtime. An evening may well develop along an unexpected path, so go for versatility.

A friend who thought he'd adapt his folk club act to have a go at some banquets for a local tourist trap had no problems with the ANZAC guests who indulged in simple pleasures, such as lighting their pubic hair and shouting 'bush fire'. They loved his bawdy material, and a good time was had by all.

But the following night his fairly gentle but slightly saucy opening song went down like a lead balloon. A note passed down the table asked him to moderate his language in view of the audience of Jehovah's Witnesses. So, the very start of the evening, and that was his repertoire out of the window...

Although booked with one probable plan in mind, we always bring more material than we need, and leave as many options open as possible. Sometimes, it works out that an audience wants something different to what the organisers thought they would. We'll adapt and go with the flow.

Please feel free to contact me if you are not sure what would be best for your event - we have jesters who can play music and perform magic, jesters who will act as a 'Master of Ceremonies' and even full one-man shows (yes, they do tend to be men - something about showing off, I think!).

It is possible to mix together groups of performers to make complete shows - even including performers who are also DJs.

Although there are some occasions that will be ideal for a specialist it is usually good to have multi-talented performers who can cope with most eventualities.