Of the many clown courses I've done, this was by far the most inspiring.

Samantha Holdsworth, founder Clowns without Borders UK

Clown Through Mask Courses

Details for residential trainings 2025 now available, please email for a brochure.

12-24 may (part one) - Haut Languedoc natural park, S. France

11 - 25 october (part two) - Haut Languedoc natural park

Clown through Mask is a groundbreaking synthesis of First Nations (Native American) and European clown traditions, that draws on the power and mystery of masks to free all aspects of your self to play. Out of these beautiful, surprising and ridiculous contradictions, your clown emerges.

Over four intensive weeks - typically split into two residential fortnights - each participant makes and wears their own six unique masks, integrating them through clown work and performances – an act of facing and embodying all directions of the self. By facing all the fundamental aspects of our humanity, we can act as a mirror to the audience, revealing far more of ourselves through the physicality and vision of the masks than we ever could without them.

Part One - over two intensive weeks, you are introduced to the fundamentals of the training - working with sound, movement, the imagination and colour in the first week, as well as exercises in the red nose. Each person makes and wears their first two masks, and performs with them in their own clown turns. 

Part Two - the remaining four masks are made, worn and performed with, and we develop skills of the clown, including how to use space, rhythm, surprises, objects and the structure of your scene to take the audience on a big journey with you.

This transformative method is based on the pioneering work of Richard Pochinko and subsequently Sue Morrison. It offers a thorough grounding in the art of clown, and how to apply its insights into other theatrical and artistic forms.

Facilitator Jonathan has developed the work through his own 27-year engagement with Clown through Mask, drawing on his Lecoq and Feldenkrais trainings to supplement and enrich the work.

He has been teaching Clown through Mask since 2005, including several times as part of the London International Mime Festival. As well as being an award-winning theatre-maker, scriptwriter and director, Jonathan is an experienced teacher and facilitator who has previously regularly taught at LAMDA, Central School of Speech and Drama, Embodied Poetics and arthaus Berlin. He has clowned in theatres, schools, hospitals and festivals in the UK, France, Iceland, Spain and Canada. Past students have gone on to make acclaimed work at the Edinburgh Fringe, Soho Theatre London and internationally. See full biography here.

What past students say:

Clown through mask completely revolutionised clown for me, and what a joy! Jonathan is a sensitive, listening teacher with a deft ability to hold you, guide you and kick you up the bum at exactly the right moment... a gloriously mad, intuitive, dreamlike experience combined with a fantastically practical and rigorous ‘how to’ element that actually leaves you equipped to go and start making work - what a relief!  Saskia Solomons

I can't recommend Jonathan Young's approach enough... it's a surprising and honest exploration of human emotions, a journey from the depths to the heights.  He leads each participant to discover something true and inherently human about themselves. Genny Steccone

An exquisite journey...  I felt completely held and pushed to develop a tactile craft of the knowledge of clowning... It was the experience of a lifetime and lead me to create my own one-woman show! Technically useful, spiritually healing - I wish I could do it all again.  Andrea Spisto

Hilarious, challenging, playful, empowering, profound, subtle, full of laughter and tears, love and pain.  It was such an enriching experience, that I would recommend to anyone in the performing arts who is interested in authentic human connection and the power of empathy... Jonathan is a wonderful facilitator.  He is both sensitive and firm with his guidance, creating a culture of trust and tenderness within the group, but was also not afraid to push individuals when he deemed necessary.  Tiff Wear

Jonathan's course was mysterious, practical, hilarious and profound. Especially recommended for those who want to create and explore clown performances during the course. Nat Bolonkin

I'd definitely recommend this course to anyone interested in performance. The work is surprising, challenging, powerful, and will stay with me for a long time. Daniel Hernandez

This was a wonderful and life-expanding course! I learnt so much it will take me a long time to absorb it. Already I have grown as a person and as a performer in unexpected ways... I haven't laughed so much in a long time. Gerry Carroll