Interactive Comedy Engagement Sessions
We work with groups of older people and relevant organisations offering a mixture of interactive comedy games and improvised comedy drama supported by professional stand ups and comedy facilitators. Our workshops aim to enhance older people’s wellbeing, counteract loneliness, increase self confidence and develop people’s comedy skills while also exercising memory.

Watch this film about a Silver Comedy engagement session

Interactive comedy engagement sessions usually last around two hours and they generally take place over a morning or afternoon around a tea break. These are regularly undertaken at community and day care centres, supported housing schemes and care homes. Wherever possible we like to actively involve staff and volunteers in these sessions. We can work with both small and large groups of people at these sessions – they tend to vary in size from between around 10-40 participants. We also offer intergenerational workshops based on the same model.

We can offer subsidised taster sessions. Contact: info@silvercomedy.co.uk for more information.

Forum Comedy
Forum Comedy is a unique form of consultation that is suitable for residents groups’, service users’, and staff events. We recently launched Forum Comedy at HQN’s London AGM, in the summer of 2012.  Since then it has proved highly popular and we have already undertaken very successful sessions for Riverside Housing Group’s residents and managers and Thurrock Council’s residents – in addition to undertaking a major Forum Comedy project for East London NHS Foundation Trust.

During Forum Comedy sessions a Silver Comedy team consisting of at least two professional stand up comedians can act out real life residents’ and/or others’ experiences gained during their dealings with their service/housing provider. These sessions are facilitated by a highly experienced Silver Comedy trainer who helps the group to explore potential solutions to the key underlying issues raised through our improvised comedy role play scenes. The use of interactive comedy in the consultation process can help organisations to consider often very serious issues while also being able to defuse tension and encourage empathy from residents, service users and staff. We are able to work with large groups as well as supporting smaller workshops; this approach works very well with all age groups.  Contact: info@silvercomedy.co.uk for more information.

Comedy sketch writing courses and shows
Our specialist comedy trainers provide sketch writing courses for groups of older people that often culminate in live performances. We undertake comedy sketch writing courses in partnership with festivals and theatres. We also offer interactive comedy shows for festive occasions.

Silver stand up training
Our specialist comedy trainers can offer one off silver stand up training courses subject to demand and we can now provide one to one online training via Skype on request.

Projects and events
We undertake a variety of innovative and specially commissioned interactive comedy projects including directing and producing films, DVDs and podcasts, often working with very vulnerable older people. Here’s an example of one: Age of Romance project .  We can offer bespoke comedy courses, support public and staff events and staff training and develop innovative and entertaining consultation techniques which encourage older people to become actively involved in improving their own local services.

Our highly skilled comedy trainers can also develop intergenerational projects focusing on both younger and older people’s skills development in such areas as facilitation, public speaking, creative writing, improvisation and stand up. By developing these new skills, we can increase people’s self confidence and employability. We can also create real opportunities for volunteering and employment through our expanding social enterprise.

We have also developed the first ever national Silver Stand Up of the Year Competition, ‘Die Laughing’ in partnership with Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival. This will be held annually and is open to newcomers as well as to established comedians. There is more information about this on the Silver Stand Up page.

Contact info@silvercomedy.co.uk for more details, including information about our charges.