Magic at Horatio's Garden
March 2025.
I have now been performing magic full time for over 20 years. In those two decades I have seen and experienced things that I would never have even thought of if I wasn’t in the world of magic and performance. I am very grateful for the opportunity I have had to meet amazing people, visit strange places and perform in unique situations.
This month I was asked if I could come along and perform at Horatio’s Garden, part of Musgrave Park Hospital’s spinal injury unit. Horatio’s garden is a UK wide charity who design and create beautiful, tranquil garden spaces to be used by patients with spinal cord injuries as part of their rehabilitation.
““Horatio’s Garden nurtures the wellbeing of people after spinal injury in beautiful, vibrant sanctuaries within the heart of NHS spinal injury centres. Leading designers create the accessible gardens where the charity’s team, alongside volunteers and creatives, care for people and plants alike.””
The charity provides interactive experiences for patients including musicians and art workshops. They have never had a magician before and thought it might work, so got in touch with me. Right from the first phone call I had with Evie, based in England, I had a good feeling. I had never heard of Horatio’s Garden before and her passion and vigour for the work really drew me in. Plus, the gardens sounded beautiful and I really wanted a chance to perform my magic there. So, the date was booked and off I went.
We had an unusually bright and sunny day that day. It couldn’t have been better weather for me to get a sense of how beautiful the space is. Right from the get go I was met with an enthusiastic smile from head gardener Matthew Lee. He’s a warm and bright man with a fascinating professional history. He worked in the NHS for 18 years before changing careers and retraining as a Horticulturalist, only to find himself back among the NHS as the head gardener at Horatio’s. I love chatting to people who truly love their work and in the short time it took for Matthew to lead me from the main gate of the garden to the garden room area, I could feel his excitement and energetic outlook towards his work.
The show took place in the garden room area. A lovely, intimate space, perfect for patients to escape the ward and spend time reading a book, listening to music, or in this case watching a show! All of the staff and volunteers welcomed me immediately and soon, the room was filled with patients and staff. Before I started, some of the patients were already quipping with me, a good sign for an upcoming warm and responsive audience.
The show that I performed is designed specifically for an intimate setting. The interactions are light-hearted and mostly verbal, with the magic created by the choices and thoughts of the audience themselves. We had a great laugh in the hour we had together and some genuinely magical moments came out of the show and the audience. It reminded me of the many years I performed at The Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. I learned an important lesson in those years…Magic is a very powerful form of escapism. Even if it’s only for brief moments, that feeling of wonder and joy can carry on into your day and even further.
Horatio’s Garden offers a healing and peaceful space, somewhere to brighten your day and escape from the commonplace, the difficulties, the sometimes harsh realities of life. When a great magic show happens, the audience and the performer help create a space for escapism, somewhere to feel something more special than the everyday routine. That’s certainly what I felt when I performed at Horatio’s Garden. It was an amazing experience that I won’t forget.
I urge you to check out Horatio’s Garden. They are creating magic.
-Caolan. March 2025