Many spiritual masters have one thing in common: a great sense of humour. Some of them (Christ included) have been dubbed Holy Fools. Indeed, it has been the role of Sacred Clowns in different traditions to shake up the status quo whenever things got too dogmatic or serious.
Join us for a weekend in the company of Rumi, Rabia, Hafiz, the Buddha, Uzume, Jesus and more to take our spiritual questing a little more lightly, to laugh at ourselves in the many mirrors of what it is to be human.
Facilitators
Vivian and Ashley began teaching the skills of their different crafts ( clowning and storytelling) back in the eighties; together they will bring you over 70 years of their experience, mistakes, momentary epiphanies and mutual madness.
Ashley Ramsden
Ashley Ramsden is the founding director of the School of Storytelling, the longest established centre of its kind in the United Kingdom.
He has toured with his remarkable storytelling programmes on all five continents, has appeared at major storytelling festivals in the UK, South Africa, Scandinavia and America.
He is as much at home telling in the Sydney Opera House or alongside the London Symphony Orchestra as he is in your front room. Ashley’s unique methods of teaching voice and the skills of the storyteller have received international acclaim.
Vivian Gladwell
Vivian is the founder and director of Nose to Nose and has given hundreds of workshops around the world. He lives both in the UK and France where he started clowning in 1978. He speaks French and English fluently.
Vivian began teaching in 1988 as part of the Lifeways Festival at Emerson College – UK. He trained as a facilitator with the Bataclown in 1990 and joined their team in 1991 also working as a modern day Court Jester (Clownanalyst).
He created Nose to Nose UK in 1990, Nose to Nose of North America in2006 and Fool View, the Social Clowning group and has trained facilitators in the UK, the USA, Germany and Italy – view history.
He continues his role as ambassador for the work by researching the applications of clowning in the context of teacher training, medicine, conflict management, ecology and intercultural work in many countries (South Africa, USA, Senegal, Vietnam, India, Malaysia, Italy, Germany, Norway…)
He holds clowning as a social playground for exploring our humanity.
Course fee: £210 – Tuition only
Deposit – £90
Accommodation and meals
Accommodation can be booked directly with the Peredur Centre.
info@peredurcentre.org.uk
01342 312527
There is access to a kitchen and dining area here to prepare your own meals.
Alternatively please contact us for list of local people and friends of Nose to Nose providing B and B accommodation.
Please note that this course is self-catering. The village of Forest Row with three supermarkets, whole food shops, cafes and restaurants is just under 4 miles away. There is similar in East Grinstead which is just over a mile away in the opposite direction.
Date and times:
The course begins Friday 10th October 2025 – 19.00
Ends Sunday 12th October 2025 – 12.30
Venue:
Peredur Centre for the Arts
West Hoathly Road,
East Grinstead.
West Sussex, RH19 4NF.
info@peredurcentre.org.uk
01342 312527
Click here to book this course or enquire
NB : due to the specialised nature of this course, places are limited to 10.
Note: On some IPADS or IPHONES you may need to “long press” the link above.
To book a course follow the link Click here to book… above. You will see on the form whether there are available places. Submit the form with your details and we will let you know how to proceed with payment of your deposit. Your deposit is REFUNDABLE MORE than 2 months before the start of the course. There is a £20 admin fee for refunds. If the course is cancelled your deposit will be refunded in full.
Deposits are paid online.
NOTE: Your place can only be confirmed after we have received your deposit. As the fee quoted usually only covers the course fee, please check you know the total cost of the course (course fee + accommodation and meals). Click here
Once your deposit has been accepted, we will notify you to confirm your place on the course.
You are booked on the course ONLY when Nose to Nose confirms your place.
If you have questions or problems, email us at mail@nosetonose.info
If full email us at mail@nosetonose.info to go on our waiting list. We’ll let you know when a place becomes available.
MORE INFO CONCERNING COURSE FEE…
Q: Can I talk to someone? A: Yes, just send an email with your phone number to mail@nosetonose.info and we’ll call you as soon as we are free to do so.
Q: Are there still spaces available on the course? A: Just click on the link Click here to book… above. You will see on the form whether there are available places.
Q: Can you put me on the waiting list? A: Sure, just click on the link Click here to enquire and fill the form. We will put you on our waiting list and let you know when a place becomes available.
Booking
10th – 12th October 2025 at Peredur Centre, East Grinstead, UK
The cost of this course is £ – a small number of places are available for bursaries from Emerson, please email the registrar. If you are ready to apply please click here .
Are you curious about clowning? Would you like an opportunity to meet the course leaders and learn more? We are offering online ‘insight’ sessions which will give you the chance to do just that. To register, select a date and time from the options below:
Monday 13th January 2025 at 7pm GMT / 8pm CET
Saturday 18th January 2025 at 2pm GMT / 3pm CET