Social Prescribing Project
Bloomin’ Buds
&
The Performance Ensemble
Bloomin’ in the Garden
Bloomin’ in the Garden is a devised performance created by The Performance Ensemble based in Leeds, in collaboration with Bloomin’ Buds with funding from Bradford 2025’s Social Prescribing pot, and technical and stage management support from AV at it CIC.
The play explores themes of summer fun, connectivity, community, nostalgia and looking for the joys in life.
For two weeks in August, we toured the show to different community venues from public to private spaces. Alongside the shows’ development, Bloomin’ Buds ran community engagement sessions creating the decoration for the performances. The groups loved working with our team to decorate bird houses, paint planters, make book marks and more!
The tour dates:
19th August
Sensory Play Session at St John’s Thorpe Edge - Audience of 19
Public Performance at Eccleshill Mechanics Institute - Audience of 31
20th August
Mindful Art Group Session at Albion Mills - Audience of 9
Public Performance at the Bradford Industrial Museum - Audience of 37
21st August
Park View Care Home - Audience of 11
Singing For Health Session at St John’s Thorpe Edge - Audience of 17
22nd August
Open Community Group session at St John’s Thorpe Edge - Audience of 13
Public Performance on a residential street - Audience of 3
26th August
Audiences were made up of children, young people, under 5’s, adults, adults with learning difficulties and older adults.
Audience Responses
“I felt more confident about pursuing artistic expression, a joyful enthusiastic performance, made me smile and move/ dance in my chair”
“Happy vibes, more alive and awake, lifted my spirits, enjoy joining in - community important, happy, felt more involved, felt included and lifted my spirits, inspired”
“Really positive, bittersweet, carefree, reflective, made me smile, smiled all the way through, fun uplighting performance, excited”
“And the people here - I don’t live here but everyone is talking.”
“Shared experience”
A few audience quotes:
“The people were very good at performing and the music was some of my dad’s music so I knew it and enjoyed singing it. The children enjoyed joining in too and could get involved in shaking the egg shakers”
“Brilliant for all ages, all the babies loved it. Thank you.”
“Brilliant performance, made me feel really happy and included.”
“Me and my children loved the performance, made us feel happy and my children loved joining in. Thank you for a lovely performance, we need more of them.”
“Fantastic, well done to everyone involved :)”
“I think in a supported living house it would really benefit the guys.”
“Our society has lost community. This helps us feel part of our Bradford Community.”
“Thoroughly enjoyed it. Very uplifting.”
“Absolutely loved it. Very inclusive. Glad I could join in.”
Check out the show and workshop gallery below
