Hello, I’m Pat Welsh, and I teach performance skills to adults through a range of comedy forms — including improv, sketch, sitcom, panto, and stand-up comedy.

My courses are grounded in the comedy practice that I have developed over the last 25 years of teaching at university degree level and in community settings.  

Whether you want to build confidence, step into performance, or kickstart a comedy career, I’ll help you develop essential performance skills — using your body, your voice, and your personality to play, improvise, and connect with others through comedy.

This is our entry-level weekly class where performance skills are introduced and developed through practice.  The specific form explored varies depending on experience within the group, but improv skills, character, and sketch comedy structure feature heavily as a pathway towards productions, be it a sketch comedy showcase, a murder mystery, or a full-blown pantomime for adults. The emphasis is on getting up and doing within a non -judgemental, supportive ensemble.  

I direct several productions per year, depending on the experience and desire of the Performance Club participants.  The productions provide a fantastic opportunity to perform in front of friends, family, and peers with full technical support. A strong sense of camaraderie develops between performers and the production crew, and audiences are always supportive and in awe of the performances. Past productions have included stand-up and sketch shows, annual pantomimes, and murder mysteries.

This is our flagship programme for individuals who want to put themselves firmly in the limelight and express themselves creatively, drawing on their unique personality and sense of humour.

Participants develop a 5-7 minute stand-up routine through an 8-week series of 3-hour workshops, with structured exercises and group interactions, leading to developmental feedback.

The starting point is performance dynamics – learning to acknowledge the context performed in, the presence of a live audience and everything happening in this particular moment.

This leads to an exploration of ‘Attitude’ as defined by course founder and much-missed alternative comedy legend, Tony Allen – ‘the identity crisis suffered when performing on stage that leads you to draw on your palette of minor personalities’.

Your material emerges through experimentation and exercises in class, and preparation outside of class. We cover Structure and Technique, and help you find and apply your own unique Texture.

There is a showcase performance at the end of the course for family, friends and peers.

Continuing the work of the late Tony Allen, both Pat and Wobbie taught with Tony on this course.