The Afternoon Delights Care Home Show has been designed and developed from the ground up with residents of care homes in mind.
Both of us have a over 5 decades of combined experience working in the public and voluntary sector, and so when it comes to understanding the needs and abilities of those in care homes and creating an instant, compassionate and meaningful relationship with our audience, there couldn’t be any two finer performers up for the task.
We are using cutting edge neuroscience and psychological evidence that stimulating activities involving art, music, language, learning and storytelling, help improve interactions, mood and mobility for those living with dementia and others with residential needs.
We have carefully curated material developed around residents’ interests and insights from lifestyle interviews, and created a highly-innovative, evidence-based collection of activities in our multi-disciplinary show based around magic, comedy, music and nostalgia.
We are both fully dedicated to three key, measurable factors across everything we do:
Engagement can be anything from standing up and taking a hand’s-on approach, to a capable level of interaction, to sitting back and relaxing as we talk and laugh around. We aim to perform with the residents as much as possible (whilst, of course, respecting their wishes if they do not want to be involved) rather than performing to or at them.
Enjoyment is typically measured by smiles on their faces, laughter from their mouths and a nice round of applause at the end. However, as we know, there can be a very wide range of abilities just in one care home, let alone across the whole of the UK. Due to this variation, our aim is to create a high-energy, engaging and captivating atmosphere that can be enjoyed across a wide range of abilities.
By using a neuroscience-informed approach, we aim to stimulate residents on a whole number of levels. We use a multi-sensory approach including noise makers, tactile objects, props, puppets, hats, musical cues and, of course, visual and cognitive magic, to reach out to as wide a range of residents as possible. This has been shown (see the evidence below this section) through much research to aid in helping mood, movement and social interactions in many people.
We pride ourselves on our inclusive approach to prioritising well-being through live, interactive performance.
There has been a number of government and government-backed research papers over the last 5 years that prove how access to arts makes care home residents happier and healthier (see Key Evidence below for more).
We believe that residents should be offered a wide range of arts activities to enhance their quality of life and increase their wellbeing. Our aim is to provide a wide-range of variety-themed activities in our Afternoon Delights show (such as signing, dancing, mime, puppetry, circus acts and more) that allows a wide band of residents access to an artistic experience.
Together, they began performing in 2011 and haven’t looked back since. They have worked closely with and learned from some of the leading performers and entertainers in the industry for the last two decades, taking them across the world from Las Vegas to Blackpool.
They currently live in the West Midlands and travel across the UK performing their magic, comedy and variety shows as AGMagicians.
Our magic is an incredibly unique and powerful way to entertain and engage your residents – we count ourselves as being incredibly lucky to go around the country sharing wonderful entertainment.
We know and appreciate, especially after the last few years of the Coronavirus, how important the experience of live entertainment is for staff and residents.
We love seeing people enjoying themselves, laughing and singing together, or even just taking in the atmosphere of our performances. We know how vital this is for resident’s wellbeing.
This is very personal to us – George has spent much of his life in the public and voluntary sector as a psychologist working with vulnerable adults. We’re always personally moved by the responses we receive from our audiences.
Because of this, we are always dedicated to delivering high-quality, suitable and enjoyable entertainment across the country to as many care homes as possible.
Alex and George are father-and-son magicians and variety artists who perform professionally across the UK.
George began developing his skills with magic in the early 1990’s as a psychologist in a small non-profit organisation working with excluded and vulnerable people. He used it to both demonstrate important psychological principles and develop young people’s confidence and self esteem.
Alex grew up surrounded by magic, performers and people who felt a strong calling for social justice. He began attending acting school in the early 2000’s and has always loved stage, screen and storytelling. He is a huge advocate for using the performing arts to explore mental health and well-being.
Together, they began performing in 2011 and haven’t looked back since. They have worked closely with and learned from some of the leading performers and entertainers in the industry for the last two decades, taking them across the world from Las Vegas to Blackpool.
They currently live in the West Midlands and travel across the UK performing their magic, comedy and variety shows as AGMagicians.
