Black Country 1920s-style singer entertains care home residents in Arizona

Miss Beth Belle, from Wolverhampton, entertains residents with hits from the likes of Doris Day, Connie Francis, Vera Lynn and the Andrews Sisters.

And thanks to streamed shows even residents at Brookdale Desert Ridge in Arizona in America have even enjoyed Miss Beth Belle's performances alongside Wolverhampton-born professional performers Richard and Katie Astbury.

Now Wolverhampton Grand Theatre is extending its dementia-friendly services after striking up a partnership with Nant Limited.

It means Miss Beth Belle – a third of The Bluebird Belles – will be able to tour even more care and residential homes this year.

Remy Lloyd, outreach manager for access and inclusion at the Grand, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Nant for their generous support, helping us to continue the hugely beneficial performances in care and residential homes this year.

"Thanks to the support of our existing sponsors, we have managed to reach thousands of people who would never have had the opportunity to engage with the Grand Theatre, providing them with the many health benefits that live music and performance can have on their physical and mental wellbeing.

"Now, with Nant’s sponsorship of our 2022 tour, we look forward to furthering our reach even more.”

Wolverhampton Grand also hold monthly Memory Cafés with live music and entertainment, reaching approximately 140 people a month.

The sessions have been proven to have many benefits for those living with dementia, such as improved general attention, cognition, memory, speech and communication skills, as well as reduced agitation and depression.

Richard Deakin, technical director of Nant said; “As a leading Black Country business, we are pleased to support the Grand Theatre in their important Memory Cafe work for those living with dementia.

"We recognise the significant difference which the Memory Cafe team can bring to audiences at care and residential homes, helping with memory, speech and communication skills."

Throughout the lockdown of 2020, the memory café’s continued online with filmed content being streamed digitally to care homes across the Midlands.

What started as an open call for local Care Homes to request a performance on the Grand Theatre’s Facebook page, sparked nationwide attention, soon garnering interest from further afield.

The Grand Theatre has now expanded its reach as to include as many care homes as possible by creating a digital version of the dementia-friendly performances that will be streamed into care homes across the country and even the world.

All of this provision is provided to the users completely free of charge thanks to the support of headline sponsors FBC Manby Bowdler and supporting sponsors The Steve Bull Foundation and Paycare.