ABOUT

"A Ship of Fools are a company to watch" - Matthew Eames, Programmer/Producer The Lowry
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A Ship of Fools Theatre Company are an international ensemble of performers, clowns, actors and musicians making exciting, anarchic, playful Bouffon theatre. 

The company was founded by Artistic Director Charles Shetcliffe in 2011, as a response to the death of his father from Huntington’s Disease (HD) and the news that he himself has the genetic marker for HD. This complex neuro-degenerative disease affects movement, cognition and behaviour - causing progressive dementia in those aged between 35 - 45. Once the degeneration begins the person typically has 10 - 20 years to live. HD affects 7 in 100,000 people in Europe and is a hereditary genetic disorder passed down from parents to children.
The company has three main aims:-

- To produce work that fuses comedy, tragedy, music, the grotesque and the beautiful to create high-quality theatre that is playful, hilarious, visually striking and  packs a punch. 

- To engage with people in disadvantaged communities, using Bouffon and our approach to theatre, to empower them, and to help them to tell their own stories.

-To raise awareness of Huntingtons Disease