School of Clowns @ Theatre Royal Brighton
Come and join us – as we offer a series of workshop courses for performers and those interested in learning more about theatrical clowning in this beautiful and historic theatre
COMING UP. A new 6 week course exploring the art and interelation between the practice of clown and mask. (starts June 18th) Further on in September there will be an advanced clown course followed by Clown for Beginners in Dec
Led by Chris Cresswell, this fascinating 6 week course offers the chance to work on the fusion of clown and mask in creating physical comedy theatre.
The work will include an introduction to neutral mask, the use of mime and working with the excellent Trestle Theatre archetype masks We will also investigate the transformative qualities of the red nose mask and the course will offer physically led approaches to improvisation, character and comic performance with focused feedback in 2 hour sessions
JUST GONE. A 10 week course exploring the art of clown. Our first course in 2025 was a great success with participants discovering or reawakening their clowns and eager to continue the journey in our next course.
“I really got a lot out of it especially with starting the development of being my clown . I’m glad courses like this are available even though I had to travel quite a way to find it. It was a great group of people and Chris created a good environment where I felt I could really experiment without fear of failing. From Chris’ approach I have learnt that every failure is an opportunity to develop” Michael
“It’s been so great meeting lots of people who are very talented and learning more from Chris, it’s been life affirming.” Amanda
What You’ll Explore:
- An awakening of your own personal clown.
- Techniques to explore presence, timing, and audience interaction.
- The power and presence of mask work.
- How to explore the art of play and create joy from failure
- Course will involve both group and solo activities, improvisation, and devising.
As a deaf person most things are not really accessible to me but this course has really opened my eyes to another world. It’s enabled me to use the skills I have but also improve on them and I’ve met some lovely new friends. It’s brought me a lot of joy because I don’t feel that I’m a deaf person in this environment, thank you Chris
Who are these courses for?
Aimed at actors, theatre-makers, musicians, dancers and circus performers who would like to research and develop skills in theatrical clowning, the course will help you discover and develop your own clown persona. It will also investigate and explore the joy and depth that comes when working in mask theatre.
Clown using clown to teach clown
Your teaching has been really fluid, and you’ve moved away from your set plan in response to what you see. I found it really interesting, really exciting teaching – clown using clown to teach clown Tim (Brighton 2025)
About Chris Cresswell
Chris Cresswell has extensive professional experience in physical theatre and clowning, along with pedagogy. He is inspired by the Lecoq tradition which deeply informs his work, and he teaches in ways that foster unbridled creativity.
Chris has trained and performed with leading circus and theatre companies including Ra Ra Zoo, John Mowat, Theatre de Complicite, Commotion Theatre company and DNA animation theatre. He is currently an Associate Lecturer at Chichester University leading the clown mask module as well as director of Age Is A Stage Theatre Co.
