Clown and Play

Clown and Play with Garry Starr (Sydney)

12-16th January 2026, 6-9pm Daily

*15hrs total over 5 consecutive evenings

This workshop is for people with some performance experience - as a clown, actor, improviser, comedian etc. It helps if you have had some clown training but not essential. We will build on all the core learning areas of the ‘Intro to Clown’ workshop (Looking to the Laugh, Repeating the Funny, Learning to Love the Flop, Saving your Mate, Doing Something vs Doing Nothing) and I will begin to provoke you as the ‘Boss Clown’ to help you find the ridiculous. We may play with masks and costumes as a way to break habits. The workshop will finish by looking at ways to create clown scenes and I will run you through how to build a show (although this may still be some way off for you).

Focus:

Provoking the Idiot

Finding the Game

Clown Scenes

Creating Original Clown Material

INSTRUCTOR BIO:

Damien is an award-winning writer, producer and performer of 'brilliantly stupid physical comedy' (fest mag).

He has teamed up with some of the greatest creatives on the planet to create theatre that is 'meticulously planned yet delightfully unpredictable' (metro) for nearly a decade, picking up some pretty darn impressive accolades along the way.

Damien studied pretending at Actors Centre Australia in Sydney, clowning at École Philippe Gaulier in Paris and corporeal mime at Atelier des Mimes in Berlin. His debut solo show Garry Starr Performs Everything was nominated for both Best Newcomer & The Golden Gibbo at the 2018 Melbourne International Comedy Festival as well as a string of UK awards. His follow-up show Greece Lightning picked up top awards in Adelaide, Sydney, Gothenburg and Manchester. His third show Classic Penguins has already swept the Australian festival circuit including the coveted Most Outstanding Show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. It then went on to play the 700 seat Garrick Theatre in London’s West End.

The basis for Damien’s performance work is to use playfulness to tell stories in a more engaging and impactful way. Inspired by master clown Phillipe Gaulier, the pleasure of entertaining through simple, beautiful idiocy forms the foundations of his work.

'One of the greatest clowns audiences are likely to see in their lifetime' - NZ Herald

‘Starr is an appealingly absurd comic creation… his tremendous warmth and respect for his audience balance out a childlike urge to create absolute chaos’ - The Stage (UK)

Contact the host of Clown & Play w/ Garry Starr (Sydney)

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