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What happens when the collective, ritualistic voice of the Tragic Chorus meets the disruptive, comic figure of the Clown?In this two-day workshop, we will explore if the Tragic Chorus and Clown illuminate one another. Rooted in the teachings and perspectives of Jacques Lecoq, we begin with the chorus: collective, elevated, and communal. We explore its ritualistic language through embodied poetics of elements and materials—shape, weight, balance and off-balance, falling and recovering, the body before psychology. The chorus observes and comments on the action, stands partly outside it, and interprets it for the audience, revealing what the protagonists cannot see.
From there, we introduce the comic figure of the clown. We ask: what happens when the "I" of the clown meets the "we" of the chorus? Is the clown the hero, standing apart from the chorus? Or could there be a chorus of clowns—a collective body that disrupts, reveals, and challenges authority together?
The themes we explore are simple and open-ended. Both chorus and clown speak truth through indirect means: prophecy and metaphor, or parody and nonsense language. Both are liminal. Both challenge the ruling classes. Both use the body before psychology. Their gaze is political and connected to the world. Yet their relationship to each other remains ripe for play.
From this foundation, we'll explore how these two forms might be reimagined for a society that has no ritual. Rather than treating Tragic Chorus and Clown as separate techniques, this workshop explores the dialogue between them, asking: what could a clown collective look and feel like? How might the chorus become a space for clowning together, discovering together, and creating meaning through relationship?
Join Judith and Robyn for this practice-bending workshop as we journey between comedy and tragedy, playing at the intersection of two worlds that have more in common than we might expect.
WHO IS THIS FOR:
This workshop is suitable for performers with some prior experience in clowning, physical theatre or related disciplines. People interested in the political, the liminal, and the playful meeting of comedy and tragedy. And those open to research and play.
Judith and Robyn bring their deep knowledge of these two disciplines, so be prepared to see what happens when they collide or collapse in the room.
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Dates & times:
Saturday 5 & Sunday 6 December 2026
10am - 5pm
Venue:
The Spark Space
Redfield, Bristol, BS5 9HH
Investment:
£200 - Supporter/ High earner
£185 - Full Price
£170 - Concession (low/no income, student)
EARLYBIRD DEAL:
£160 if you pay before 6 November
"CLOWN AND..." WORKSHOP BUNDLE
All 3 workshops - £455 (save £145) *more info below *
Payment will be requested via BACs
BOOKING:
Email [email protected] to book a place
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ABOUT THE FACILITATORS
Judith Milligan is a Scottish director, teacher and performer whose love of tragic chorus was born after two years of studying at the Ecole Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq. She has over 20 years of experience teaching theatre workshops and courses including at Glasgow University, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Scottish Mask and Puppet Centre and the Diploma of Physical Theatre Practice where she taught tragic chorus. In Paris, where she is based, she creates and directs shows with large ensembles, notably with the award-winning project Langues en Scene. She collaborates regularly with the politically active street theatre company Détournoyment, and site-specific performance company oceanallover. Her research on the tragic chorus includes a series of flamenco and tragic chorus workshops with Yana Maizel, a residency on text and physical work with Surge and choral direction for Ballads Before Butchery, a contemporary reworking of Sophocles’ Antigone by Florencia Garcia Chafuen. A series of workshops exploring bouffon and tragic chorus with Al Seed led to a production The Shadow of Heaven premiered in 2018. She is currently working on another tragic chorus project with Al Seed Productions, Thrice, which will premiere at Tramway in October 2026.
Robyn Hambrook is a Bristol-based director, teacher, performer and founder of the Bristol Clown School. With over 20 years experience she is a passionate practitioner of clowning, physical theatre, circus and street arts. She has a MA in Circus Directing, a Diploma of Physical Theatre Practice and trained with a long line of inspiring teachers including Holly Stoppit, Peta Lily, Giovanni Fusetti, Bim Mason, Jon Davison, Zuma Puma, Lucy Hopkins, Phillip Gaulier, Carlo Jacucci and John Wright.
Robyn has run workshops in corporate, community, education and humanitarian settings for companies including Clown Me In, Let's Circus, Impact Arts, Islington People's Theatre, Active Inquiry and in tertiary education for the University of Bristol, UWE, Circomedia and Circus Central. As a director Robyn has collaborated with international circus theatre companies including Let’s Circus, The Sexual Health Circus and Whispering Wood Folk and performed with acclaimed physical theatre companies including, Derevo, Akhe, Oceanallover, and Gappad as well as her own award-winning company, Fun in the Oven Theatre.
Keen to explore the intersection of clowning and politics, Robyn is driven to create collaborative, research spaces, testing and pushing the limits of the artform to create new knowledge and methodologies for her industry and strengthen partnerships for future work. Some of her most recent collaborations and teaching projects have included the Nomadic Rebel Clown Academy (5-day Activist Clown Training), The Laboratory of the Un-beautiful (Feminist Grotesque Bouffon Training for Womxn Theatre Makers) and the Clown Congress (annual gathering of clowns, activists & academics collectively exploring what it means to be a clown in this current era).
The CLOWN AND ... series
Welcome to our Clown and… series – where clowning meets other creative forms!
Discover new dimensions of your creative practice by exploring the intersection of clowning with different artistic disciplines. How does the spontaneity, playfulness, and vulnerability of clown transform other modalities and vice versa?
Through this series, you’ll:
★ Expand your creative range by blending clowning with unexpected forms
★ Deepen your expression by embracing risk, curiosity, and joy
★ Reimagine performance through the unique lens of the clown
Whether you're a performer, artist, or simply curious, join us to play, experiment, and uncover fresh ways to create. The clown is your guide - where will the journey take you?
Check out the full series:
Sat 31 October & Sun 1 November
Clown & Mask
2-day workshop with Gonzalo Villareal Porzio
Sat 14 & Sun 15 November
Clown & Shakespeare
2-day workshop with Peta Lily
Sat 5 & Sun 6 December
Clown & Tragic Chorus
2-day workshop with Judith Milligan & Robyn Hambrook
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Event venue
Redfield, Bristol, United Kingdom
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