A year ago, the fools of Beyond The Ridiculous made the difficult decision to take a break from public performances and scattered our ridiculous seeds to the far corners of the globe. Collectively, we’ve been performing, directing, teaching, touring, moving house, playing music, producing, making our own work, giving birth to a baby (only one fool did that), going straight, going wonkier, winning prizes, losing keys and having many, many birthd... Read more >

For the last 6 months I’ve been working with Liz Clarke, helping her to make her first full-length theatrical solo show, Cannonballista. 

We met in the dark days of winter, in a massive, freezing cold rehearsal space. Liz brought her breakfast in a tupperware box, I brought a cold and a blanket. We began the process of unpacking Liz... Read more >

Wowee! What a week! 

I've been teaching clowning for over 10 years, but never have I had the opportunity to steep 12 people in the state of clown for  5 whole, consecutive days. I had notions about what might happen, but I chose to stay open to the process, designing each day as it came, in relation to the groups development and interests. 

We met in a lovely school hall in the centre of Bristol. As with all my cour... Read more >

That's what my critic looks like, what's yours like?

This Autumn, I am delighted to be offering 2 versions of my Inner Critic Inquiry 8-week course. To help you understand what might happen to you if you sign up, I’d like to tell you the story of where it came from.

Once upon a time I was a touring performer. For over 20 years (I started young!), I tr... Read more >

We're delighted to announce our Autumn Workshop programme for your delectation!!!

This term we're offering:

4 x Introduction To Clowning Weekends

2  x Inner Critic Inquiries

1 x 10 week Clown to Performance course

And a partridge in a pear tree.

We hope we've got something for you. Have a read below to find out more. 

1.) Introduction to Clowning Weekends

This is a... Read more >

People often ask me this question and it’s a bit hard to answer in a sentence, so I gave myself the task of writing about it, in no more than 5 points. Here's some of the things that happen at my 5 day Fools School.

1.) Building Trust Together Through Play And Sharing

I’ve recently discovered Brene Brown’s useful trust-building acronym, BRAVING (Boundaries, Reliability, Accountability, Vault, Integrity, Non-judgment, Generosity). This simple list of trust-b... Read more >

What a treat! I’ve just spent a week with my original Fooling teacher and mentor, Franki Anderson; playing, swimming, writing, laughing, eating, wondering and wandering in Franki’s Cornish Fools Paradise. I feel refreshed, revitalised and ready for my next round of summer schools. Bring on Advanced Fools School!

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Ah the frantic, sexy thrust of mid-summer! Orgasmic flowers flirt with the randy bees, horny trees release their seeds to the rampant breeze and gagging-for-it humans shed their protective layers and drunkenly cavort for each other. I’m finding all a bit exhausting, to be honest.

This week I’ve stepped out of the crazy thrum and quietly turned my attention inwards. I’ve always found Solstice to be a powerful time for laying old bones to rest an... Read more >

This brand new 2-day workshop with Holly Stoppit and Tess Cartwright invites you to explore grief through comedy.

“Hmm, grief and comedy, unlikely bedfellows,” you might think, but wait, read on to find out what we’ve discovered...

We are Holly Stoppit, dramatherapist, performance research facilitator and comedy teacher, and Tess Cartwright, performer and artistic director of Modest Genius Theatre Company. 

Last year, Holly facilitated Tess and her company through an intense period... Read more >

“This final show is about ‘Connection’; how connection enhances our lives, how easily it is to fall out of connection and how it takes courage, compassion and vulnerability to reestablish connection when it’s broken. Some of it may be funny, some of it may be moving, some of it may be informative, some of it may be rubbish, but all of it will be for you.”

Read more >