LATEST NEWS & UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

clown congress seeks a catering manager

The Clown Congress is looking for a catering manager to help us deliver delicious, nourishing meals during our 2-day convergence of practitioners exploring contemporary clowning practice.
An absolutely essential part our Congress is the networking and discussions that happen - not just in sessions but in the spaces between.
Food plays a vital role in this. We provide shared meals and refreshments on-site, to ensure that conversations continue to flow and that participants can remain fully engaged without having to seek food elsewhere. It helps us build community and can be a showcase for incredible food projects in Bristol. Find out more and how to apply here. Deadline Friday 7 March.

the clown congress is back!

Calling all clowns! This is your invitation to gather with us for 2-days of deep, meaningful, playful and irreverent exploration of the future of our beloved artform.
We're back after a wee hiatus; at time to reflect, re-gather energy and consolidate ideas and visions for this event.
I'm delighted to be collaborating again with Holly Stoppit and Jan Wozniak to create an open space invitation for our community to get together and explore the future of clowning...in these crazy times.
We're back at the Wickham Theatre at Bristol University at the beginning of April. New format. New year. New challenges and opportunities. I hope you'll join us at the Clown Congress 2025!

comedy creation 101

I'm delighted to be returning to Exeter to support the growing South West clown community. This time I'll be running a 3-day Comedy Creation workshop. An opportunity to explore tools, exercises and inspiration to craft original comedy acts.
We' be covering things like character development, object play, emotional exploration, and status dynamics, experimenting with crafting solo and ensemble skits and learning how to structure an act that keeps an audience engaged.
Check out the full course details and how to join!

NEW MORNING CLASSES!!

I love a morning practice, whether it's yoga or strength training, so when I was asked to run a morning class, I thought 'why not give it a go?' It is unknown territory for me as I usually do my classes in the evenings or on the weekend. But actually it makes sense. Why not combine an embodied movement  practice with the playfulness and connection of clowning.
So I am trialling 9 sessions in the new year. It's for clowns, dancers, actors, circus artists, improvisers, movers or anyone curious about developing a playful embodied practice. Tailored for those who want to keep their skills sharp through the winter months. This playful practice aims to set you up for the week a joyous mix Lecoq and Laban-based movement invitations and clown-inspired improvisations. Check it out!

laboratory of the un-beautiful returns

And we're back! Deborah Antoinette are reuniting after 3 years to present the Laboratory of the Un-beautiful through the Bristol Clown School in 2025. Dive into the world of the bouffon and grotesque in this womxn-only weekend intensive. A chance to explore the wild and satirical play of the bouffon as we explore themes of sisterhood/lack-of; self-image; power; consent; perception of femininity; Maiden-Motherhood-Crone phases and more.
This fantastic theatrical form lends itself 'beautifully' to an exploration of the distortion of feminine power within our cultural & political experience.
"A must for anyone wanting to take their connection with and ideas for theatre work a little closer to a devilish cutting edge."
Create performance which is enlivening, honest & your own. Check out full details here!

stop the goats...and the fascists

This week we took to the streets joining thousands of anti-fascists gathering to say NO to racism and fascist violence. The community stood strong; all together in the beautiful diversity that is Bristol. A small group of clowns came out to bring love, stickers, bubbles, humour and connection to the space.
But humour and clowning has a history of being powerful tools in the fight against fascism and white supremacy. Check out my blog talking about these powerful possibilities of The Activist Clown.
Photo by @_ian_irwin

A Nomadic Adventures in Berlin & brussels

The Nomadic Rebel Clown Academy continues to gallivant across Europe. From Berlin to Brussels we have worked over 30 artists and activists all working from a deep desire to find new ways to address the issues of the world through heart connection, humour and play. You can read all about what happened in Berlin blog; 5 days of play, experimentation, action design and delightful activist clowning on the streets of Berlin. We were joined by an incredible photographer for a couple of days, Jason Krüger of Ekvidi Photography. You can see the workshop through his lens here. Brussels was a beautifully different beast and inspiring nontheless. Our photographer kardama_pedalpxl captured our process, play and actions from the most multi-cultural neighbourhood of Brussels to the tourist packed squares in the centre.  You can see the workshop through his lens here.

introducing the bristol clown school

I am delighted to announce that I have founded The Bristol Clown School; the Home of Clowning in Bristol. The vision is to create educational, creative and community spaces dedicated to celebration of all the powerful personal and political possibilities of clowning.
I am currently curating seasonal programmes of classes and workshops, bringing in teachers and organisations to share the full gamut of clown practice and its expression in the world.
The heart of the Bristol Clown School is community! That's YOU! And this space has to serve you. So what do you want your clown school to look like? What kind of courses or workshops do you want? Who would you like to teach here?  I would love to hear from you so we can build the Bristol Clown School from the ground up together, rooted in the needs and desires of its community. Do you have just five minutes to fill in this questionnaire?

so...what happened at the Clown Congress?

The Clown Congress returned for 2023, this time bringing together 55 clowns, academics, performers, artists, theatre makers teachers, therapists, activists and hobbyists from across the UK and Europe to interrogate our clowning practice and explore what it means to clown in these times. It happened over three days in Bristol.
We had a theme: Identity and Clowning.  We had a shiny new venue, The Wickham Theatre at the University of Bristol. We had a bigger organising committee Jon Davison, Jan Wozniak, Aerial Mel Stevens, Holly Stoppit and me. And we had an online programme which ran simultaneously and included interviews, discussions and workshops by international practitioners.
If you want to find out what happened, I got blogs! 
Check out Day One by Holly Stoppit; Day Two by Jan Wozniak; Day Three by Robyn Hambrook; Plus How was the Congress...  reflections from participants and The Clown Congress in Prose by Beccy Golding

The Activist Clown just got published!

Last year I received a DYCP from Arts Council England to develop and consolidate my research of the Activist Clown. I wanted writing to be a part of that process. I reached out to Dorothy Max Prior, Editor of Total Theatre Magazine who had developed the Writers as Artists Scheme – mentoring artists to develop their writing skills, and think about their performance practice. Our work together since last November has culminated in my first published piece - 'Rebel, Rebel'.

An Activist Clown Festival in Lisbon

Read my latest blog about my recent trip to Lisbon for an Activist Clown Festival. What better way to escape the never-ending UK winter than pop over to Portugal for networking, conversations, workshops, performances and a pastel de nata or three!

In clown-versation with Barnaby King

Barnaby King asked me to join him for a Clown-versation about my activism and clowning work. It was a relaxed and easy conversation and the hour passed really quickly with still more to say. Barnaby has had about 30 conversations with clowns from all over the world, including Holly Stoppit, Eric Davis, Jeff Johnson, Nola Rae, Jon Davison and Angela Decastro. You can check out his Youtube Channel to find them all archived there.