The Company
The Bureau is made up of a diverse collection of Bristol based performers from street theatre, circus, physical theatre and dance genres.
We have had the pleasure of working with a whole bunch of creative Bristol folk who have dipped in and out of our shows over the years, here are the current core group who regularly make up the Bureau.
Paul Clayden: Co-Director
Paul began his professional career in 1980 as a dancer in Companies that include: Second Stride, Motionhouse, DV8, Yolande Snaith, Rosemary Butcher and Siobhan Davies Dance Company. During the 1980′s he also formed his own Arts Council funded company’s that toured nationally creating over 30 works for stage and film. In the 21st century he moved to Bristol where he began teaching and working for the acclaimed Circus/Physical Theatre school, Circomedia. In the last 10 years he has Directed the Circus show with the Invisible Circus’s Carny Village and was Creative Director on Arcadia’s 2010 Glastonbury spectacular. He regularly mentor’s performers and choreographers currently working in Bristol.
Paul teaches on the Single Honors Dance Course at Bath Spa University where he initially formed the Bath version of The Bureau of Random Acts in 2009 with students. This was quickly followed by the creation of the professional Bristol based collective, The Bureau of Random Acts in conjunction with Rose Jackson.
Rose Clayden: Co-Director
Rosellen is a physical theatre performer and dancer from Cornwall. Having trained at Bath Spa University, she went on to collaborate with Paul in 2009 to create and develop ‘The Bureau of Random Acts’. Alongside the Bureau Rosellen also performs with Bristol company Airtime Circus Creations as well as teaching contemporary dance throughout Bristol and working as a choreographer for various circus performers in Bristol. Over the past 5 years she has been exploring an integration of Contemporary Dance and circus skills, which has led to a choreographic relationship with local Pole Champions in the region including Kate Czepulkowski (Bendy Kate). Together with Paul Clayden, Rosellen was also co-choreographer for the Lords of Lightning as part of Arcadia Spectaclar's 2015 'Metamorphosis' show.
Lex Rooney
Lex trained in dance at London Contemporary Dance School, Bath Spa University and Laban. Over the past 10 years she has performed in productions including, Petite Mort, Protein Dance, Strictly Visions, Falling Wide and Kit & Kaboodle. In 2010 she founded Crowded Mouth Productions, where she collaborated with Jaime Bullock on the film, A Glutton for Love. As well as her love of The Bureau, Lex also performs with Swerve Dance Theatre Company and Afidance and has recently performed in Willi Dorner’s Bodies in Urban Spaces.
Lex has taught in a variety of settings from Higher Education to youth and community projects including work with adults and young people with social, physical and learning difficulties. She is currently Head of Movement on the FDA in Contemporary Circus & Physical Performance at Circomedia and a Lecturer on the BA(hons) Dance at Bath Spa University.
Becky Illsley
Becky is a co-founder of Jilted Pig, an emerging physical theatre company based in Bristol. They make outdoor instillation work, and when she isn’t being random with the Bureau, she can be seen performing in a van up and down the country.
Becky started her physical theatre career at Hope Street in Liverpool, training with artists such as Mic Murphy and Rejects Revenge, before moving to Bristol to attend Circomedia. She has a love for comedy particularly Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd. She has worked with companies including the Invisible Circus, Desperate Men and the Stand and Stare Collective.
Mary Maw
Mary is a canal dwelling stand up comedian with a love of all things ridiculous. She obtained a degree in physical theatre and contemporary circus from Circomedia in 2013. Her one woman show "Mind Over Matter" explores the issues of a thirty something year old woman, ranging from love to colonoscopies. Alongside her work with the Bureau of Random Acts, Mary crafts circus equipment from her boat travelling to various floating markets to trade and put on pop up workshops.