Clowning Doctors: Bringing theatre to the world of medicine

The phrase 'clown doctor' may lead to memories of Robin Williams' character in the 1998 film Patch Adams. It was a character who was based on a real person. Kiwi theatre maker Phoebe Mason is a real clown doctor at The Humour Foundation in Melbourne; taking theatre, fun, and laughter into hospitals. Several years ago, a nurse studying for her PhD looked at the work of clown doctors and their impact on patients and the working environment. The Royal Children's Hospital then reached out to the Humour Foundation asking for a workshop in which clown principles could be shared with the medical staff as a form of communication training. The results from those workshops have since been published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. Phoebe Mason is also the creative director of Playback Theatre in Melbourne; a global practice where people's real life stories are shared and a group of performers and musicians improvise and perform it back to the group on the spot to create rapport and understanding. She spoke to Culture 101 about the role of clown doctors and running workshops with medical staff.