Our name, Told by an Idiot, reflects our desire to place characters who are often on the margins of stories, or who simply act as comic relief, at the very heart of the narrative. Our use of the word 'Idiot' in our name, and in all we do, refers to the characteristics of playfulness, openness and curiosity and is used warmly as a means to celebrate human vulnerability. We passionately believe there is an ‘Idiot’ in all of us and, by embracing our capacity to mess up, slip on life’s banana skin but continue to get up, we begin to inhabit a liberating and creative space.

 

Our Mission

Told by an Idiot explores the human condition through theatre that is ambitious, but never pretentious, experimental, but always accessible and we avoid boredom at all costs.  

Our mission is to make provocative and relevant work that is rooted in the live experience and thrives on a sense of spontaneity and risk. We are fascinated by the space between laughter and pain and our desire to laugh taps into something universal. It can provide hope and relief and it brings people together.  We consistently experiment with what theatre can be and who gets to make it. In doing so our work blurs the line between theatre maker, participant and audience. Our work excludes no one, stimulates and challenges people across the world, and we remain committed to making theatre for anyone who breathes. 

 

Our Values

Our company values, that are the beating heart of our organization, and which are shared throughout our staff, board and freelance theatre makers, are as follows:  

·         Revel in the live experience  

·         Innovate and provoke  

·         Find laughter in unlikely places  

·         Include everyone

 

Our Vision 

“I am a working-class Birmingham boy (Father an electrician, Mother a dinner lady) who had no access to theatre and the arts, and I felt excluded from that world for many years. For me to reach a position of influence in the cultural sector has been quite a journey, and I see it as my duty to open doors to the disadvantaged that follow. It is imperative that I give them access and opportunities to realise their potential and reach positions of power”. 

Paul Hunter, Told by an Idiot’s Artistic Director 

 

At Told by an Idiot we have a burning desire and responsibility to make change happen in British Theatre. It is crucial that we use our public subsidy to give voice to those on the periphery of the story. 

Told by an idiot operates on the edge of chaos in a constant quest for exploration, consistently opening the door to risk in order to deliver the best work by continuing to develop and change. Entertainment is from the French word ‘entretenir’ meaning ‘hold together’ or ‘support’. It was associated with hospitality - when you entertained a guest, you were keeping them happy. These sentiments go right to the very heart of our Idiot values.  

Rather than seeing entertainment as a dirty word, we embrace it fully as the very thing we are trying to achieve. Ultimately at the end of one of our shows we want the audience to leave the theatre with a smile on their face and remember that Told by an Idiot put it there. All our work and activity, live and digital, exists only to provoke a reaction in the audience. We make our performances in a way that creates an authentic, and genuine connection with the public. We acknowledge that our audience is different every time and we celebrate the difference of that new connection.  

Our vision is also to ensure we make a major contribution to the national and International reputation and reach of the cultural sector in England by creating risk-taking, dynamic and critically acclaimed new work, which consistently reflects ambition, quality, inclusivity and relevance. 

View our past productions here.