Southport Clown School

“Create your unique clown character; design costume and makeup concepts; learn physical skills, playful interaction techniques” - publicity (links to Southport 20206 Big Top Fetsival webpage)

For videos see @newheritageperf

Run by New Heritage Performance, commissioned by Sefton Borough Council and Produced by Culture Liverpool as part of a year long series of public events in Southport.

The workshops were open to participants in Sefton & Liverpool City Region, and offered accessible, high-quality training led by Kurt Zarniko/Richard Talbot. They were free of charge and open to professionals and new performers. Workshops were open to people aged 18+. Participants were asked to commit to as much of the course as possible as places were limited to 15. In the end 29 signed up, 19 attended and 7 performed in a final weekend (See the blogpost: Big Top Festival @Southport2026).

The course took place on Thursday evenings (7-9pm) and Sundays (10am-3pm) in March and April 2026 at Southport Market Extravaganza space, part of Southport Market, Merseyside UK.

Workshops started with games and simple exercises, leading to costume and character ideas.

Producer Gina Hutchinson with participants

By the end of the course participants had developed two ‘clown families’ - the Biscuits and the Crackers for a outdoor walkabout performance with staged and timed events on the theme of “a clown family daytrip”.

Photo courtesy Sean Robinson

By the end of the course, participants were able to perform these group 10-minute clown improvisation without technical requirements alongside professional acts also appearing in the festival. They learned how to interact with the public and saw the behind the scenes activity, sharing a green room with other acts.

Photo courtesy Sean Robinson

The aim in the longer term is to establish a legacy ‘Southport Clown School’ for Sefton and Liverpool City Region