5-day Fools School

***NEW AUTUMN DATES JUST ADDED***

What is Fooling?

Fooling is a form of solo improvisation where you get to meet and play with the cast of characters (or parts) who normally live inside you. 

Fools start with nothing. They stand alone on an empty stage. They breathe. They feel. They notice a sensation or an emotion or a thought or an impulse and they dive into it. Inside these sensations, emotions, thoughts and impulses is a universe of inner parts waiting to be discovered.

You may find yourself tapping into the freedom of your inner child. Your inner critic may wade in to shut everything down. Your inner guide or coach may show up to help you manage the situation, and so might your inner production manager, your inner dreamer, your inner diva or even your inner hermit…

As you embody each part, you’ll discover that some like to talk, some express themselves through dance or song and some might just want to sit quietly and be. 

Fooling is an audaciously authentic form of improvised theatre that allows both players and audiences to explore what it is to be human.

Over five days, a small group of eight people gradually discover the tools and confidence to walk onto an empty stage with no script, no plan and no ideas, and to find the courage to play with whatever is ready to be seen. 

“A beautifully-held, ridiculously creative exploration of yourself and your parts.”  

A GROUP JOURNEY

Although Fooling is a solo form, this workshop is very much a group journey. Holly dips into her training in dramatherapy, Somatic Internal Family Systems (IFS), meditation, Compassionate Inquiry and Nonviolent Communication to skilfully create the conditions for compassion and curiosity to flow. 

“I couldn't have felt more safe and happy with the pacing of the week.”

Through play and discussion, within clearly defined boundaries, we create a safe-enough container together. This container gradually invites more and more bravery, vulnerability, weirdness, wildness, sweetness and gnarliness to emerge and be seen. 

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS?

We begin each day by meeting our bodies, hearts and minds in meditation. Holly offers a range of creative and embodied contemplations, drawn from 25 years of practice.

Then we check in with each other as a group, letting each other know how we're arriving and what we need.

Then we move into mindful movement explorations, to warm up our bodies and begin to find our way into connection with each other.

During the week, there are playful voice warm ups, group games and creative exercises designed to help the group connect with themselves and each other in different ways. Throughout these exercises, participants are invited to notice the parts that pop up. As the course progresses, we’ll explore many different ways to notice and embody our parts.

There are also plenty of opportunities to improvise solos for each other in a supportive, non-critical environment.

And there are many, many cups of tea.

Hang on, is this theatre or therapy? 

Good question! Fooling can be either theatre or therapy or both, AND MORE! Holly has spent 25 years integrating Fooling into her performance, theatre direction, dramatherapy and into her life! Holly’s previous students have integrated Fooling into every art-form and many different therapeutic modalities.

These 5-day courses tend to be a mix of people coming for performance training and therapy / self-inquiry. Holly intentionally curates diverse groups for the deeper learning that takes place when people who are different find compassionate connection.

“A deep dive into play, mystery, uncertainty, freedom, hilarity and shadow.”

Everything that Holly offers during the 5-day Fools School is an invitation. It’s up to you how deep you want to go. Having run this course for over 10 years, Holly has seen how it's possible for everyone in the group to have very different experiences to each other - the aim is not to homogenise, but to follow your own path through the week, whilst respecting that everyone else will be following theirs!

You can use the week to:

• Learn different ways to notice your inner parts

• Discover more about your parts through compassionate contemplation and embodiment

• Explore blocks to creativity and connection

• Dialogue and dance with your doubts and fears

• Learn tools to safely bring your vulnerability and authentic feelings out to play 

• Develop a more sensitive, connected, alive and wild performance style

• Generate raw material which can be used as the basis of creating devised theatre or to take into other art forms

• Discover a structure for creating instant performance, anywhere

• Bear witness to the beauty and complexity of being human and know that you are not alone

The Nitty Gritty 

July Dates: 27-31 July 2026 

Venue: Clifton, Bristol (more details on booking) 

Times: 10-6 each day (final day finishes at 6.30) 

Cost: £650 (standard) / £600 (low income) / £550 (supported) 

This application deadline has passed, we are still accepting people for the reserve list, please fill out the application form below and we'll get back to you if a place comes up.

***NEW AUTUMN DATES JUST ADDED***

October dates: 26-30 October 2026

October application deadline: Friday 4th September 2026

October application form: Here or below

November/Dec dates: 30 November - 4 December 2026

Nov / Dec application deadline: Friday 2nd October 2026

Nov / Dec application form: Here or below

Venue for all autumn Fools courses: Clifton, Bristol (more details on booking) 

Times: 10am-6pm each day (final day finishes at 6.30) 

This course is a carefully crafted group journey. Attending the full course is essential, both for your own experience and for the group as a whole. We ask that you only apply if you can commit to this fully.

Group size: This workshop is designed for 8 people. If the course is oversubscribed, we will operate a reserve list. 

Autumn Prices 

Cost: £750 (standard) / £650 (lower wage) / £600 (on benefits / in education). Please choose the tier that honestly reflects your current financial situation.

Application process: There is an application process to make sure you're a good fit for the course. After the application deadline, Holly will select a balanced group based on age, gender, experience and reasons for joining the course. In our experience these courses benefit hugely from having a good mix of people in the room.   

Who is this course for?

This course is designed for adults aged 18+.

It is for performers, creatives, therapists, counsellors, facilitators and people who want to learn more about themselves. 

It’s for a very small group of 8 participants.

Priority will be given to people who have worked with Holly before, as this week can go super deep and Holly needs to know you'll be a good fit for the work. It may be possible to get a place without having trained with Holly before. If this is you - please make sure you take time over your application so Holly can get a good sense of where you’re coming from and why you’re coming. 

Access

We want diversity in our workshops! We want to support marginalized people / people with additional needs to be there! Please let us know about any access requirements on the application form and we will do our best to accommodate you. 

Holly is a trained and registered dramatherapist and delights in holding space for people with mental health issues. This course works for people with mild to moderate mental health issues.

This course is not appropriate for anyone who is currently experiencing major mental health issues like psychosis, suicidal adiation, etc. 

Holly is highly experienced in working with neurodivergent and LGBTQI+ people. She will create a brave space where you can bring yourself and your needs. 

Holly welcomes people with disabilities. However, there are three steps to access the main training space. The venue has 3 toilets - one is at the same level as the training space, with a sink inside the cubicle. The venue has stairs leading between the training space and the kitchen, which will unfortunately make it not possible for wheelchair users to access the kitchen. We are sorry about this. We need more affordable, accessible Bristol venues! If you are a wheelchair user and you want to come, we will find a way to make it possible. 

Covid / cancellation policy below.

What do other people say about this course?

For a transcript of this video and a few photos, check out this blog.

Where does this work come from?

Fooling has formed the foundation for most of Holly’s performing / directing work since she began her training with Master Fool, Franki Anderson, 25 years ago. Over the years, Holly has woven in many strands of her professional training and experience, including Dramatherapy (MA), meditation, dance/movement, playful voice work, compassionate communication skills training (Nonviolent Communication, Compassionate Inquiry, Open Space, Action Learning, Clearness Committee, Insight Dialogue, Thinking Environment), creative writing, clowning, sacred clown, Internal Family Systems (Levels 1 + 2) and Somatic Internal Family Systems (Steps 1+2), to develop her own version of the form.

Holly is artistic director of a public performance company of fools called Beyond The Ridiculous. 

To find out more about Holly's training and experience go here.

To find out a bit more about what happens during this workshop, have a look at What Actually Happens During These Fooling Workshops.

Covid Care 

>There are still people who are vulnerable to covid and Holly wants everyone to feel as safe as possible in the space. 

>We can't guarantee a Covid-free environment, but we can do our best to minimise the risks for people with compromised immunity and/or those who are connected with immune-compromised people.

>If you have any covid-like symptoms, please take a lat-flow test and please don't come if you have tested positive. 

>All exercises can work with social distancing, if that is what you need. Please make sure that physical proximity is consensual.

>You are welcome to wear a mask if that makes you feel safer. Holly will not be asking people to wear masks. 

>We will be working with windows open for ventilation, so please bring extra warm layers.

>We will have an open discussion and make a group agreement on the first day to make sure everyone feels safe and comfortable enough.

Cancellation Policy

We are a totally unfunded organisation - the only income we make is through these workshops. We work hard to keep our prices as affordable as possible, and cancellations can make that genuinely difficult. If you need to cancel your place, we will do our best to find a replacement, but this isn't always possible. Thanks in advance for your understanding.

• A £10 administration fee will be deducted from any refund to cover the cost of processing your cancellation.

• If you need to cancel your place before the course begins, full refunds can only be given up until one month before the course starts.

• Should you need to cancel after this date, 50% of your payment will be retained, unless your place can be suitably filled (we may be able to find a replacement, but the closer it is to the workshop, the less likely this becomes).

• For drop-outs within one week of the start of the course, your full fee will be retained.

• Your place on this course cannot be transferred to a future course. Each cohort is selected individually, and acceptance on one course does not guarantee a place on another - any future application would be considered alongside all other applicants at that time. You may not transfer your place to another person.

• If Holly needs to cancel this course for any reason, you will be offered alternative dates. If you are unable to attend the rescheduled dates, then we will offer a full refund.

“Deep, funny, touching, playful”

“Whenever people ask me how it was, the same thing happens: 'Boof' I say, while flinging my hands away from my head and body.”

“Holly, thanks for making the space so safe and inviting us to be so brave. I hide it, but I find it so difficult in groups and this showed me it doesn't always have to be! Fooling was a really special experience for me that I will cherish always!”