Taught by an Idiot

Taught by an Idiot is our artist development and participation programme. The title is a deliberately playful provocation, questioning who gets to teach, and what teaching might look like. We have no interest in teaching anyone anything. Instead, we look to share, explore and provoke. All we ask from our participants is a sense of openness, curiosity, and the desire to play. Our Taught projects sit at the heart of the company, reflecting the same anarchic, spontaneous spirit that drives our productions.

We work with students, teachers, early-career artists, professionals and community participants across a range of settings. Below, you’ll find a selection of workshops we run regularly, each offering a practical insight into our collaborative and physical approach to making theatre. We are committed to making this work accessible, and we regularly deliver inclusive workshops for participants who may face barriers to accessing traditional theatre-making spaces.

We work widely with schools, universities, theatre companies and community groups, delivering workshops, CPD opportunities, residencies, bespoke sessions or longer-term projects across the UK and internationally. These are designed to be creative, practical and genuinely useful. School workshops and projects support curriculum learning while encouraging imagination, play and confidence.

Often these workshops relate to the following themes:

Devising in the style of the practitioner / the Idiot approach to making theatre
Clowning
Physical comedy
Creating theatre without a script

Want to hear more about how we can work together or how to book a workshop? Get in touch: [email protected]

Recent feedback:

“This participation work should be rolled out as an example of excellence”school teacher

“It was exceptional. Paul is an absolute luminary.This was the most enlightening, liberating, inspiring workshop I've ever done.” participant

"So many ideas that I can take back to my classroom!” school teacher

"So motivating to be given a set of tools and then put them immediately into action in such a safe, supportive space. The workshop was demanding and pulled ideas out of me that I had no idea were there." participant

“There was constant laughter throughout and an increasing focus amongst my pupils as they realised how relevant the teachings of 'Told by an Idiot' are." school teacher

Taught by an Idiot

Workshops

Accessible workshops

Projects and events

Drama Online - Devised Theatre Workshop

Idiot Resources