WHy Inclusivity-devising-clowning?
OUR APPROACH IS SHAPPED BY OUR VALUES
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• Mixed casts for connection and inclusion
We are a participatory theatre company. Our work is co-created by artists with diverse background - blending formal training and lived experience. We hold spaces creating shared artistic experiences that combat isolation and build lasting social inclusion — on and off stage.
• Devising: A re-empowering process
At the core of our ethos is devised theatre — a collaborative process where the participants shape the work. Our concept: their story, their show.
Every performance is co-created, giving participants the freedom to choose what matters to them and how they want to express it.
• Clowning & visual poetry : Theatre that speak beyond words
We use physical theatre, visual poetry, and clowning — theatrical forms that make our work especially accessible to non-native English speakers and communities from diverse linguistic backgrounds.
a participatory theatre company of Sanctuary, we aim to be a place of welcome and provide people who were forced to flee their homes with a platform to express themselves and be heard, as well as an opportunity to change the negative narrative often associated with refugees.
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"The boat journey". - Borderline -
VISUAL POETRY
Expression is one of our most essential human needs, yet it can be one of the hardest to achieve, especially when language barriers or trauma are involved.
Trauma can make words impossible to find.
At PSYCHEdelight, we have developed a technique called Visual Poetry to help people find their voice and share their stories. This aesthetic approach holds the violence of trauma while celebrating the beauty, talent, and humanity of each person.
Visual Poetry involves creating visual tableaux, inspired by the therapeutic practice of Family Constellations, which our Artistic Director, Sophie Besse, discovered during her family therapy training. Our approach also shares common ground with the Image Theatre of Theatre of the Oppressed, but at PSYCHEdelight, we take the artistic dimension further. We use lights, symbolic imagery, music, and costumes to transform each moment into a powerful piece of art.
We believe turning traumatic memories into art is a powerful therapeutical act because it is, above all, an act of transformation. Approaching horror through an aesthetic lens helps highlight the trauma by contrast, while also celebrating the beauty and talent of the person who created the image.
Trauma often traps people in the past, fusing their identity with the violence they have experienced. By turning these memories into art, we help people step back from their trauma and see it as something outside themselves.
Through aesthetic creation, individuals can reclaim authorship of their story and let their beauty & talent to shine through even in the face of the horror they experienced.
The Haunted house in "Welcome To The UK"'s funfair. Debby raising awareness about women trafficking organised by husbands.
Pigs queuing outside the haunted house attraction.
- Welcome To The UK -
Detention centres in the UK -Welcome To The UK -
more visual poetry from our theatre retreats in France
"How does it feel with your best friend?" A game where you are not allowed to talk and can only use the cello to answer.
Work installation as part of our "Too Much" exhibition.
CLOWNING
Clown is Tragedy’s poetic little flatmate, except he doesn't evoke pity or fear but laughter, endearment, and admiration. Clown can’t resist a ratty shoe or a broken heart: they love upcycling trauma. They are, in every sense, true healers.
Clowns are very helpful in raising awareness because they convey horror through laughter, making it more digestible (though never less real) for our audiences. This approach feels especially essential today, in these post-Covid times when many struggle with their mental health and often avoid distressing news and shows.
Also, Clowning is not only a final product; it is also a process. Laughter and humor flow throughout the co-creation journey, helping to bond a group, even a very diverse one. Playfulness and dark humor are universal languages that offer vital support when working with painful material. Laughter can release emotions just as profoundly as tears, and in many stories we have heard, humor was the last rescuer when all else was despair.
When creating a show, clowning - like visual poetry - helps to rehumanise people by separating the individual from the horror they have endured. Clowns celebrate our humanity, our vulnerability, and our silliness. Through clowning, people are no longer just “refugees” but become hilarious, courageous and resilient individuals who chose to create a comedy out of their tragedy.
We believe this is what art and healing are about: transformation.
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"I had enough sadness. I love making people laugh, it makes me feel better." Enayat. 17y. Afghanistan
The frozen refugee after crossing the channel on a refrigerated lorry. - Borderline -
A "very helpful" Mary Poppins welcomes a refugee at her home after he was made homeless at the end of his 28 days. - Welcome to the UK -
DEVISING
Devising is at the core of our ethos especially when it comes to "refugees". We witnessed so many "story harvesters" in Calais, devising felt like the right approach; it re-empowers people to reclaim their stories, their voices, and their creativity. At PSYCHEdelight, devising means that participants are not just performers but co-creators. We give them the director’s hat, encouraging them to choose the music, lights, and aesthetic details that feel true to them, so their scene or image—whether silent or not—reflects what they want to express in the way they wish to express it. We support them with artistic guidance and creative propositions, but ultimately, it is their world, their story, and their truth on stage. This collaborative process creates space for participants to discover and celebrate their agency, shaping not only the performance but also the way they see themselves within their story.
