Norfolk 2009

We came, we saw, we flew. Jonathan Kay and the Nomadic Academy of Fools have just returned from a week of Fooling around in a field up in deepest darkest Norfolk. Housed in a Ger surrounded by a great murder of crows, our week of families visiting to see what we have been up to all year unfurled in the most charming way, culminating with a show at  Compass Centre on the Friday and a spooky little rendition of Richard II on Saturday night by candlelight in the Ger. The week was amazing, with each Fool leading their own day to the other Fools and invited friends and family. Plans were made for next year. We shall be touring Richard II around the Template Circuit and both the Fools and Jonathan Kay shall be leading a year of training in Fooling, for new participants, concentrating on characterisation, comedy and tragedy.  The application process is

Richard II @ Compass Centre

now open for next year and the closing date is the 31st August, so get yours in ASAP. Don’t miss out on the adventure of a lifetime!

Next up Jonathan Kay is off to Glastonbury Festival where he shall be performing each afternoon at The Astrolabe. After this we will all be heading to Secret Garden Party, where we shall be performing throughout the day in the Feast of Fools area. Then Big Green Gathering where the Fools and Jonathan Kay will open the festival on the Wednesday night and then Jonathan shall perform each day after that at 4pm. Hope to catch up with you at one of these. Enjoy the summer!

Jonathan Kay is a 21st Century Fool. Headliner of Glastonbury Festival’s Theatre and Circus field for the last fifteen years and with continuous runs of sell out shows at the Edinburgh Festival, Jonathan is not only a veteran of improvisation, but the Grand Master.  For a generation brought up on passive pastimes and TV dinners, this show is mind blowing stuff. A heavy weight comedian who brings a truly unique and personal experience, his show is interactive, playful, shocking and reality bending… Oh, and very, very, funny!

Come to Daddy...

Brilliant… he leaves the audience dizzy – Independent

Stupid, silly, intriguing, delightful, strange and unsettling – Guy Dartnell

Making them laugh at themselves to understand themselves. It is what a good fool is supposed to do! - Guardian

An extraordinary journey! - Toby Jones

Provocative, opening and liberating. - Kath Burlinson

A free-form exploration of whatever is on his – or his audience’s – mind. - The List

Every show is different. Nothing is predictable and all of it is the product of a mischievous mind. Kay is one fool you’ll suffer gladly. - Edmonton Journal

The ultimate theatre of possibility! - Time Out

For those of you who have never seen a Jonathan Kay show before… it’s quite an experience! Strangely familiar and like nothing you have ever seen before. For a taster check out this YouTube documentary filmed at Brighton Festival in 2008 or for the over 18′s amongst you this show at TheGreatEscapade in 2006 (has strong language!)

Jonathan Kay is one of the most inspiring and free-thinking theatre practitioners I have ever met. He is a unique, genuine and natural communicator. A one off. As a teacher and a performer, he is funny, frustrating and challenging all at once. He cuts through pretension, contrivance, cliché’ and ego. There was no hiding place. I learnt a lot from him. I would urge anyone to sign-up to his courses and to see his shows. He is a philosopher, a fool and a much needed voice of sanity.

– Jeremy Stockwell, RADA

Jonathan Kay runs an annual programme of workshops training people from all walks of life in his unique Fooling technique. There are Weekend Workshops for those who wish to test the water, with 2 & 3 week Masterclasses for those brave enough to go for a swim. And if you’re really crazy you can jump and see if you never hit the bottom by becoming one of the Nomadic Academy of Fools, an on-going apprenticeship in Fooling that leads onto professional work with the ever developing and expanding company.

Fooling is a unique technique that introduces you to the architecture of your own personal inner stage, upon which you are able to perform on in any space and at any time, using just improvisation and your own imagination. This work stretches past ego, allowing you to feel at ease in any situation and comfortable talking intimately with anyone in the audience, be them a beggar or a king.

To find out details on where and when Jonathan Kay is Fooling in performance or in workshops visit our gig calender and join our mailing list!

For more information on the Nomadic Academy of Fools or the professional touring troupe A Company of Fools pay a little visit to their website.

Richard II on Clapham Common

What an amazing week! London Bubble kicked us off with a warm workshop and an evening presentation of Jonathan’s work. Met many marvellous people who we hope to see much more of in the future. Then BAC housed the NAF for its final week of work on Richard II, during this current cycle of Fools. Working with archetypes, Jonathan led the performers into a whole new world of profoundity, one that quite simply blew them away. The results were shared with audiences in a Show & Tell at BAC and then a run through of Richard II on Clapham Common, in front of the setting sun. The work came into it’s own when performed outside and helped bring to life the archetypes they had been working with during the week. Then to top off a perfect tour, the weekend workshop at Hoxton Hall was a sell out and hit some really high delicate notes for only two days worth of work. Many of those from the first weekend returned and we also welcomed back many who had been with us on different workshops at other points throughout the year. It was lovely to see everyone again and ended a magical year for Jonathan and the Fools, culminating in a quick keilidh to the bag pipes in the setting sun on Hoxton Street. This is our last tour until September when we begin to head back through Europe, but you can catch us all performing at various festivals throughout the summer. To keep abreast of Foolish events, like the Burlesque Life Drawing night hosted by the NAF Fools in the Arlington Cafe this month, go the the Nomadic Academy of Fools website.