Creating Clown Performance ~ weekend workshop with Jon Davison
Schedule
Sat, 13 Jun, 2026 at 10:00 am to Sun, 14 Jun, 2026 at 05:00 pm
UTC+01:00Location
Bristol, UK | Bristol, EN
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What’s my plan? And how do I perform now what I planned earlier?The Bristol Clown School is delighted to host a workshop with Jon Davison designed to bridge the gap between your authentic clown and the craft of creating performance material.
With a focus on the devising process, we’ll examine: how to build material that suits your unique clown, how to structure that material for the stage, and how to remain spontaneously present while performing something you’ve planned.
The two days offer a practical investigation of how to fuse your personal "stupidity and craziness" with careful composition, drawing on Jon’s extensive experience in clown and comedy. A unique opportunity to play, explore, and transform your craft!
This workshop is suitable for performers with some prior experience in clowning or related disciplines. It is perfect for anyone who has begun creating their own work, feels stuck in their creative process, or wants to refine existing material to ensure it truly works for an audience.
This workshop is also the perfect companion for understanding the craft behind the chaos of clowning.
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Dates & times:
Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 June 2026
10am - 5pm
Venue:
The Spark Space
Redfield, Bristol, BS5 9HH
Investment:
2 day workshop (12 hours training)
£190 - Supporter/ High earner
£175 - Full Price
£160 - Concession (low/no income, student)
EARLYBIRD £20 off if you book before 30 April
Payment will be requested via paypal or BACs
Prerequisites:
Performers with some prior experience in clowning or related disciplines.
BOOKING:
Email [email protected] to book a place
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ABOUT JON DAVISON:
Jon Davison is a clown performer, teacher, director, producer, researcher and musician with over 40 years’ experience in theatre, street, circus and TV. He teaches, directs and mentors regularly in the UK and internationally.
He trained at the École Philippe Gaulier (London) and Fool Time Circus School (Bristol). He has toured festivals, theatres, tents, streets and bars throughout Europe from Sicily to the Arctic, and taught across the globe from South Africa to Quebec, Peru, Shanghai and New York. He has directed innumerable shows, from melodrama to clowning, for Camden Roundhouse, Edinburgh Fringe and Adelaide Fringe.
Jon was at the forefront of the new clown revival in Barcelona of the 1990s. He taught clown, improvisation and acting at the Institut del Teatre de Barcelona from 1996-2006, when he became a co-founder of the Escola de Clown de Barcelona, facilitating the collaboration of international teachers within a syllabus including historical and theoretical studies.
He is currently Lecturer in Clowning at London Metropolitan University and runs the London Clown School’s programme of year-round workshops and intensive practical studies. His current research focuses on collaborations with neurodivergent clown performers in revising notions of the non-normative in clowning.
https://www.jondavison.net
WHAT OTHERS SAY:
"Thanks very much for the weekend, it was a lot of fun - I haven't laughed so much in ages. You were really helpful in demystifying clowning, offering ways in to it that were clear, and easy to understand and remember, like it being fine to be real or fake, not always having to wait for it to feel real, and the difference between what an actor generally does and what a clown is doing." Georgie Steele, London 2024
"Jon is a brilliant teacher and is able to bring out courage in people by focusing on the tasks of exploration rather than getting something "right". Jon welcomes all human interactions, interruption, confusion, and questions. Play is not limited to simply saying "yes". There is an excellent introspectiveness set from the beginning without it becoming paralysing. Where all feelings are correct" Andy Ross, Bristol 2023
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Where is it happening?
Bristol, UK, United KingdomEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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