Charlie Hammond is a performer, facilitator, and clown whose work lives in the space between laughter and tenderness, chaos and care. Based in Sheffield, Charlie has over a decade of experience spanning street theatre, cabaret, devised theatre, hospital clowning, and contemporary circus.
Charlie’s career has been shaped by a diverse range of collaborations across the UK and internationally. He has worked with renowned companies such as Giffords Circus, Walk the Plank, Tmesis Theatre, and Reckless Invention, as well as creating original work including Clonely—a low-fi, sci-fi comedy that received ★★★★ from The Scotsman at the Edinburgh Fringe. He has trained extensively with some of Europe’s leading clown and physical theatre practitioners, including Holly Stoppit, Spymonkey, John Wright, Clown Lab, and Frantic Assembly. As Associate Director to Cal McCrystal, Charlie worked on multiple productions for Giffords Circus between 2014 and 2016.
At the heart of Charlie’s work is an instinct for care. As a Giggle Doctor with Theodora Children’s Charity for over 8 years, he has brought joy and gentle connection to children in hospitals throughout the UK. This ongoing experience has deepened his belief in the potential for clowning as a transformative practice, for play as process, and how laughter can lead to healing.
Charlie’s facilitation and outreach experience is just as wide-ranging. He has delivered creative projects with Contact Theatre, the NHS, Woodcraft Folk, and the Royal Exchange Manchester to name a few.
Now, Charlie is increasingly drawn to exploring the therapeutic dimensions of clowning -the intersection of play, creativity, and therapy. He has been exploring this supported by an Arts Council England DYCP grant, training in Creative Facilitation, Fooling, and Advanced Wilderness Therapeutic Approaches. He is especially interested in how the principles of clowning—presence, responsiveness, and radical vulnerability—can foster environments where people feel safe enough to be fully themselves.
Whether in a rehearsal room, making a child laugh on a hospital corridor, or greeting the outdoor around a campfire, Charlie’s work seeks to honour the quiet magic of showing up: open-hearted, playful, and willing to be surprised.
Charlie offers bespoke projects and workshops for communities, organisations, theatre companies, and individuals. He’s always interested in new collaborations from television, film, voice, theatre, circus, or cabaret. Get in touch here.
Charlie’s Teachers
Clowning & Fooling
Holly Stoppit (5 Day Fools, Discovering Your Inner Cast, Fooling with the Body) ,Manu Sembely (Clowning), Robyn Hambrook (Activist Clown Toolkit), Philippe Gaulier (Le Jeu, Neutral Mask & Greek Tragedy, Masked Play and Commedia dell’arte, Melodrama, Writing & Directing, Characters), Peta Lily (Clowning), Christie Animas (Fooling), Jamie Wood (Clowning), Spymonkey – Aitor Basauri (To Be or Not To Be an Idiot), John Wright (Buffon & Acting Without Bullshit), Clownlab (Performer’s Playground – Clown, Buffon), Sean Kempton (Out of Body, Out of Mind)
Voice
Holly Stoppit & Bryony Greenhill (Deep Play), Nat Grady (Accent Workshops: RP, American, Scottish, Welsh, London, Yorkshire, Voiceover and Radio), Priske deHandschutter
Creative Facilitation & Therapeutic Practice
Holly Stoppit (Creative Facilitation), Theodora Children’s Charity (Safeguarding, Infection Control, Play, and Working in Medical Environments), Eqe Outdoors (Advanced Wilderness Therapeutic Approaches In Progress), SEN Training (Bamboozle Theatre),
Dance, Movement,& Physical Theatre
Nola Rae (Mime), Frantic Assembly & Hijinx Theatre (Devising Physical Theatre), Babel Theatre (Cinematic Storytelling), Levantes (Devising from Dance), Vamos Young People’s Theatre (Full Mask), Bistaki (Outdoor Physical Theatre Creation), Crystal Zilwood (Exploring Movement Through Cellular Consciousness), Lucy Huzzard (Swedish Folk Dance), Skint Festival (Various European Folk Dance), Alessandro Sciarroni (Polka Chinata), Breakdance (Greentop Circus).
Improvisation
British Improvisation Theatre (Improvisation), Nathan Keates
Forum Theatre
Fforwm (Theatre of the Oppressed)
Circus, Acrobatics & Aerial
Greentop (Aerial Hoop, Acrobatics Course, Silks), Circus House (Tumbling, Unicycling) Dani Tonks (Burlesque), Clarita Circus (Aerial Silks), Michael Justice (Stilts)
Puppetry
Sparkle and Dark (Puppetry)
Comedy
John Cooper (Introduction to Stand-Up), Sean Morley (Scriptless-Stand Up)
Residencies & Artist Development
Theatre Deli Sheffield (Residency), Surge (Outdoor Artist Residency), Bradford Producing Hub (Outdoor Arts Residency), No Fit State (Circus Village Residency), National Theatre Wales (WalesLab Residency), The Lowry (Class of 2019 Artist Scheme), Clown Conference 2025, Outdoor Arts Conference 2024
Charlie Hammond 