Brave Bold Drama

A photograph taken in the lounge of a care home with a low white ceiling and pink chair surrounding the edge of the room. Older people are sitting on the chairs. In the foreground on the left a tall white man in his 30s wearing a dark green T-shirt and turquoise shorts holds a small fishing rod from which is dangling a silver fabric fish. On the right a smaller white woman in her 40s with dark hair tied up in a bun wearing black framed spectacles and a long black T-shirt is holding a printed artwork of a rock pool on a beach.

A colour photograph taken in the living room of a care home with low white ceilings and walls pink chair around the edge of the room and older people are sitting on the chairs. In the foreground on the left a white woman in her 40s with dark hair tied into a bun wearing black framed spectacles and a long black T-shirt Plays a large ukulele. On the right a tall white man in his 30s wearing a dark green T-shirt and turquoise shorts is in the act of singing whilst mining playing a trombone with his hands.

We’re enjoying improvising seaside stories with Bamfield Lodge residents at the moment!

Just back from another session today where we created a story about fizzy-wine flavoured sticks of rock!

One more session to go with the current funding, but we hope to return to this work before too long.

A composite image. A white man in his 30s wearing an orange fedora, a large fake bushy black handlebar moustache and a short sleeved navy shirt with lobster print leans in from the right hand side, looking surprised and holding a metal magnifying glass to one eye. Behind him super imposed a circular teal logo with the words CIA company of international artists in white. Underneath the logo in white the words August 2025.

Do You Follow? @agentskahlodali.bsky.social

Read about shark attacks and more in our August newsletter via this link

(And please click and follow @agentskahlodali.bsky.social)

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SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW FRIDA KAHLO? Part 3

Bite-sized bio introduced by Agent Kahlo, art detective & Frida Kahlo's biggest fan!

#fridakahlo #art #bio #detectives

SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW FRIDA KAHLO? Part 2

Bite-sized bio introduced by Agent Kahlo, art detective & Frida Kahlo's biggest fan!

#fridakahlo #art #bio #detectives

SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW FRIDA KAHLO? Part 1

Bite-sized bio introduced by Agent Kahlo, art detective & Frida Kahlo’s biggest fan!

#fridakahlo #art #bio #detectives

SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW YOUR ARTISTS?

New series of artist bios starts today, presented by Agents Kahlo & Dali.

#fridakahlo #art #bio #detectives

Two photographs stacked one on top of the other. Both show a vertical striped red and white lighthouse structure in a very yellow dry festival field with a band stand and a banner saying Exmouth festival beyond. In front of the lighthouse in the top photo a group of five people. Left to right: a white woman in her 40s wearing a black cap, cream dungarees and a pale blue T-shirt stands in a warrior pose holding a green children’s fishing net aloft. Next to her a black woman in her 40s wearing a black tunic and dark shorts stands smiling. Next to her a white man in his 30s in a black cap pale Ollie blue T-shirt and cream dungarees crouches down smiling. Next to him a white woman in her 30s wearing a pale bucket hat and a navy sundress crouches smiling next to a small white child in a navy bucket hat, navy dress with floral print and pink leggings in the act of looking through a plastic telescope. The photograph below is almost exactly the same except the white woman in her 40s with the black cap pale blue T-shirt and cream dungarees is now holding a navy sailor scarf with a white stripe around the edge and is speaking to a white child who is aged around 10. They have long blonde hair in a plat and are wearing a pale blue cap, a dark navy T-shirt, pale blue shorts and have a pair of black binoculars around their neck. White text top right of the top photograph says the keepers today at Exmouth festival.

Thanks Exmouth Festival for hosting our seaside family improv show The Keepers today!

There was metal-detecting, a shark attack and two people abseiled off a cliff, all inspired from seaside postcards written by the audience.

With thanks to these lovely audience members who joined us for a photo.

With thanks to @knowlewestmedia.bsky.social for their support with rehearsal space! ❤️

We are all set for Exmouth Festival!

Catch our improvised storytelling show THE KEEPERS there this Sunday.

Pop along, write us a postcard and you never know, your ideas might be pulled out the lobster pot to be turned into a brand new story!

bravebolddrama.co.uk/theatre/the-...

A colour photo of a white man and woman both wearing headphones standing in the Sun outside a pale stone building with a blue sign saying in yellow letters chard museum. On the left the man is tall with short ginger hair and a neat moustache wearing sunglasses blue over ear headphones and a dark green T-shirt. On the right a small woman with dark curly shoulder length hair and sunglasses wears a black vest top and has white in ear headphones with cables hanging down. Both are smiling.

Here’s us testing our newest sound walk in Chard!

It goes live on 21 July. It’s called Redstart Radio.

It features the creative writing & voices of Yr 5 students from Redstart Primary who created radio dramas inspired by 10 different artworks.

More here
companyofinternationalartists.com/events

The @agentskahlodali.bsky.social is our alter ego, don’t you know…

A composite image. Two different images both slightly transparent are overlaid. Background image the torso of a white man wearing a dark suit holding a small wooden gavel is in the act of auctioning art. Overlaid is an oil painting by artist Vermeer featuring a young white woman sitting writing a letter wearing a large 16th century yellow dress. White text overlaid said June 2025

June 2025: new ventures - read our latest newsletter here!
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A colour head and shoulders selfie of a white woman in her 40s standing in front of a large screen mounted on the wall. The woman wears an orange head scarf tied in a bow on top of her head, white plastic framed sunglasses and a purple short sleeved tunic with white embroidery. Projected on the screen in black typewriter font the words welcome to the company of international artists. Underneath a large teal circular logo with the words CIA company of international artists in White underneath. The words top-secret are printed either side of the logo in red. at the bottom of the screen in black typewriter font it says art detective agency.

A colour photo of a young white woman in her 20s poking her face through an oval hole in a large piece of cardboard. She is wailing exaggeratedly. She has drawn a brown body underneath the oval and a red broken heart on the chest. Blue tissue paper tears Are pouring from the eyes.

A colour photo of a large piece of white cardboard on a white table. An oval hole has been cut in the cardboard. Above the oval arranged like her are yellow and red corkscrew curls. Beneath the hole scraps of turquoise tissue paper.

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We will also share a public link to our PowerPoint presentation from the conference tomorrow and leave it viewable for a month.

#conference #workshop #creativelearning #bristol #internationalconference

A colour photograph of a workshop in progress in a seminar room. A white woman in her 40s holds a blue plastic magnifying glass to her eye and looks closely at a print of the artist Edvard Munch’s the scream. She has light brown bobbed hair and is wearing an elbow length shirt with a dark background and small multicoloured dinosaur print.

A colour photo of a young white woman in her 20s her face through an oval hole in a large piece of cardboard. She is smiling widely. She has added to the cardboard a swirly orange and purple sky a pink tissue paper body beneath the oval hole and a swirly blue lake on the right. Beneath the lake is a seagull with white tissue paper wings.

A colour photo of a white woman in her 40s poking her face through an oval hole in a large piece of cardboard. She is smiling excitedly. She has drawn above the oval hole some alien antenna and beneath the hole a large purple hat with a pink brim.

A colour photo of a young black woman in her 20s poking her face through an oval hole in a large piece of cardboard. She is smiling warmly. She has glued strips of red orange, white and yellow tissue paper to the top of the cardboard. Underneath the oval hole she has drawn a Naked body with a censored sign to spare our blushes

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We also led delegates through one of our art investigation workshops, and they created some fabulous art inspired by their theories about Edvard Munch’s The Scream! 😱

Watch this space for a song about their theories, posted tomorrow by midday!

A colour photo of two people standing in front of a long vertical banner. On the left a tall white man in his 30s wearing an orange Fedora hat a large fake bushy black handlebar moustache a short sleeved navy shirt with red lobster print and orange shorts. He is smiling and pointing excitedly at the banner. The banner is white and says in blue international child and family conference. In front of the banner leaning slightly on a table is a small white woman in her 40s. She is wearing an orange head scarf tied in a bow on top of her head, white plastic framed sunglasses and a short sleeved purple tunic with white embroidery on the front over a leopard print jumpsuit.

A colour photograph of a seminar room in a university. In the foreground on a white table resting on a table top easel is a teal circular logo with white writing saying CIA company of international artists. Next to the logo on the right black old-fashioned telephone with a lobster attached to the handset. Also on the table several plastic magnifying glasses in red yellow and blue. Slightly out of focus on the wall behind a PowerPoint presentation with the same circular teal logo in the centre and the words top-secret in red can just be seen.

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“Really inspiring! Never seen anything like this before. This has been so interesting. The best workshop I’ve been to!”

We had a great time presenting the @agentskahlodali.bsky.social at the University of Bristol International Child and Family conference today.

A screenshot of a website. At the top of the words, university of Bristol beneath that School for policy studies. Beneath that Bristol hosts First International child and family conference. Beneath that a photograph of a brown child’s hands spread out on top of a large coloured pencil drawing of the globe with coloured pencils scattered all around.

We’re proud to be presenting at this conference!

Delegates can find us on Wed 18 June, 4-6pm as we lead a workshop exploring how our project @agentskahlodali.bsky.social is breaking cultural barriers and giving agency to children through theatre and beyond.

More here: bristol.ac.uk/sps/news/202...

“Art in school EVERY DAY!”
Agent Kahlo of the @agentskahlodali.bsky.social found this quotation in a children’s manifesto in the Filwood Times and just HAD to turn it into a badge!

A colour photograph of two people in a community space doing a theatre improv exercise. On the left of south Asian man in his 30s wears loose black cotton trousers over a black knee length tunic. He has dark short hair and a dark beard and stands hunched over leaning on an imaginary walking stick. On the right a young white woman in her 20s with long black hair wearing a black longsleeved top and a black skirt with red floral print. She is mimicking the pose of the man.

A colour photograph of two people in a community space doing a theatre improv exercise. In the foreground a tall white man in his 40s with a dark green T-shirt and short dark hair and glasses stands with his hands on his hips, leaning backwards with a proud expression. Beyond a white woman in her 20s with long black hair, wearing a long sleeved black top and a black skirt with red floral print mimics the man’s pose.

A colour photograph of two people standing at a low coffee table in a community space. On the table a green tombola decorated with yellow diagonal stripes. On the left a young white woman in her 20s with long black hair wearing a sleeveless black and white floral dress leans over the tombola about to reach inside it. On the right a tall white man in his 40s wearing a dark green T-shirt and spectacles holds a small piece of paper. He has just drawn out of the tombola.

A colour photograph of two people in a community space in the act of a theatre improv exercise. They are both sitting. On the left a young white woman in her 20s with long black hair wearing a sleeveless black and white floral dress smiles at the man sitting next to her. On the right a tall white man in his 40s wearing jeans, a dark green T-shirt and spectacles mines holding an ice cream cone and looks at the woman with a smile. In front of them another chair covered with small slips of paper. Some other slips of paper are scattered on the floor at their feet.

“It’s been brilliant!”

I recently finished a series of weekly storytelling workshops I’ve been running on behalf of Bristol Improv Theatre at Filwood Community Centre for the last 2 months.

We explored many improv techniques and how these can be deployed in lots of different creative contexts.

A colour photograph of two actors next to a small dark wooden circular table. On the left a white woman in her 40s with an orange head scarf tied in a bow on top of her head white plastic framed sunglasses, red lipstick and an embroidered tunic smiles excitedly. On the right a white man in his 30s wears an orange fedora a large bushy black fake handlebar moustache and a short sleeved navy shirt with red lobster print also smiles. On the table a circular teal logo with the words CIA company of international artists and art book featuring the artist Vermeer and a black old-fashioned telephone with a fake lobster attached to the handset.

A colour photograph of two white men holding magnifying glasses and inspecting an art book on a table. On the left the man wears a green silk smoking jacket and a grey cap. On the right the man wears a cream shirt. The table is small dark wood and circular. A teal circular logo with the words CIA company of international artists also on the table and an artist’s pallet rests underneath the table.

A colour photo of three young white women standing in a row next to a small dark wooden circular table. Two of the women hold magnifying glasses. The third is holding the handset of a black old-fashioned telephone. A fake lobster is attached to the handset. They are all looking surprised. On the table, an art book about the artist Vermeer, a vase of blue fabric flowers and a large circular teal logo with the words CIA company of international artists in white.

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“So funny! Pitched with the perfect amount of challenge. I loved all the attention to detail, the props, it was so engaging.”

Under the Hammer will be available for private bookings very soon, send us an expression of interest if you’d like to know more!

bravebolddrama.co.uk/theatre/unde...

A colour photograph of a small dark wooden circular table. On the table a black old-fashioned telephone with a fake lobster attached to the handset. Behind the phone a vase of blue fabric flowers. Next to the vase a large teal circular logo with the words CIA company of international artists in white. Finally a large art book about the artist Vermeer with an oil painting of a young white woman making lace on the cover.

A colour photograph of a table set for dinner. A white tablecloth wine glasses and in the foreground a small wooden gravel. In focus beyond the table on a wooden easel a canvas print of an oil painting by Vermeer featuring a young white woman wearing a yellow dress in the act of writing at a table.

A colour photograph of a long dinner table. Guests seated. White tablecloth. Guests are smiling and laughing and several are holding auction paddles.

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Under the Hammer, our newest interactive art mystery with @agentskahlodali.bsky.social for adults & teens IS GO!

Agents Kahlo & Dali broke cover yesterday evening to work with a dinner party as they tried to crack a case, set at a charity art auction.

Composite image. Text says ABOUT THE SHOW Sticky Ends is an energetic, funny and often surreal improv show for family or school audiences that riffs of the form of cautionary tales. Its intention is to make an absolute mockery of the tradition of heavy moralising that features so much in children's theatre. The show's length is flexible; it can be between 30-60 minutes depending on requirements. It can be pure improv from audience suggestions or include a mix of pre-rehearsed stories and songs also in the cautionary tale format. The show has exciting and playful opportunities for audience participation throughout, and the show culminates in an improvised song. One of our favourite improvised stories to date remains a story called: Don't Throw Yoghurt On The Dog. Underneath the text a colour photograph of two actors midway through an improv show. On the left crouched by a blackboard easel in the act of writing on it is a white woman in her 40s with curly dark hair wearing yellow dungarees. On the left a tall white man in his 30s points excitedly at the blackboard wearing purple dungarees.

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This is a perfect pick-up-and-go show for indoor/outdoor family events, so if you’d like some absurd, high-energy improvised half-hour stories this summer, do get in touch!

#improv #storytelling #familytheatre #cautionarytales #accessibletheatre

A composite image. At the top a colour photograph of a barn like structure hanging off the barn is purple bunting with yellow!’s on each flag. In front of the barn a yellow table on which is placed a tombola. Text underneath says The audience suggestions we pulled out the tombola and turned into absurdist cautionary tales... CONFESS A STRANGE, UNUSUAL OR SILLY THING YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD NOT TO DO.... throw bleach at the curtains. construct a rocket that runs on potatoes and hydrogen Sticky Ends at The Treehouse, Bournemouth for a Diverse Abilities family event, May 2025

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We played it twice last week at a fantastic family event hosted by Diverse Abilities in Bournemouth, creating stories called Don’t Throw Bleach at the Curtains and Don’t Make a Rocket Powered by Hydrogen & Potatoes.

A composite image. Two actors on the left a white woman in her 40s with dark curly hair was yellow dungarees with a purple! On them. She is singing and playing a ukulele. On the right a white man in his 30s with short ginger hair and a neat beard was purple dungarees with a yellow! On them.Text above says sticky ends a participatory improv show for 5+. Text above also reads stories songs surprises silliness. At the bottom in a yellow strip text says "Deliciously humorous verse kept the young audience enthralled but not scared. Witty and dark-humoured, a highly original show. Edinburgh Fringe Review, Sticky Ends

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We made a show that’s GUARANTEED to END BADLY!

Sticky Ends! has been going strong since 2017, improvising absurdist cautionary tales drawn from audience confessions posted into our Tombola of Truth.

Contact | bravebolddrama.co.uk

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It gets its premiere in a couple of weeks, after which we’ll be working to adapt it for a wider audience.

Interested? You could stay in the loop by signing up to receive our monthly newsletter via the link on our website:

bravebolddrama.co.uk/contact.html

A composite image. Two different images both slightly transparent are overlaid. Background image the torso of a white man wearing a dark suit holding a small wooden gavel is in the act of auctioning art. Overlaid is an oil painting by artist Vermeer featuring a young white woman sitting writing a letter wearing a large 16th century yellow dress. White texts at top of image says under the hammer and interactive art mystery for teens and adults. Bottom of image a teal circular logo with letters says CIA company of international artists. Beneath the logo text says www.companyofinternationalartists.com.

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We’ve been working on this private commission for a while now.

Under the Hammer is an interactive art mystery set at a charity auction and within the world of the Company of International Artists, designed for teenagers and/or adults to actively solve together.

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As a Trinity Champion Centres, our job is to inspire other organisations by sharing our practice and advocating for accreditation in our communities and more widely.

www.artsaward.org.uk/site/?id=2575

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Our next Arts Award course will be part of a residency at Bridge Learning Campus in Hartcliffe in the autumn, which is funded by West of England Music and Arts.

Composite image, white background and gold confetti. In the bottom right two actors. On the left a white woman in her 40s wearing yellow dungarees over a purple T-shirt she is blowing a purple kazoo and her arms are spread wide. On the right a tall white man in his 30s wearing purple dungarees over a yellow T-shirt. He is blowing a yellow kazoo also with arms spread wide. Above them text in purple says We’ve been named a Trinity Champion Centre 2025/26 for our successful delivery of Arts Award qualifications! Under that a logo also in purple says Trinity Champion Centre 2025/26.

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🥳 TOOT TOOT! 🎉

We’re proud to have been recently named as a Trinity Champion Centre 2025/26 for our successful delivery of Arts Award qualifications!

This is the FIFTH time now that we’ve been recognised in this way.

Our co-Artistic Director Paul Lawless successfully completed the Bristol 10K this morning!

If you would like to help us keep on running as a company that gives live arts to some of the most vulnerable people in our society, you can donate via our Kofi account.
ko-fi.com/bravebolddrama

We were at The Script’s The Thing 2 today, a festival of new writing, showcasing our latest show The Mexico Mission! in the main space at @dorchesterarts.bsky.social
There was only time to present a tiny bit of the show, but here’s a sense of how it carries on.

bravebolddrama.co.uk/theatre/mexi...