Roly Bain: Difference between revisions

His father was Kenneth Bruce Findlater Bain, a theatre critic who wrote under the name [[Richard Findlater]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Richard Findlater|url=http://www.danleno.co.uk/people/richard-findlater/|website=The Dan Leno Project|accessdateaccess-date=5 May 2016}}</ref> His mother was [[Romany Bain]], a [[freelance]] [[journalist]]. He was one of triplets. He attended [[St Paul's School, London|St. Paul's School]] in West London, then read [[theology]] at [[Bristol University]] and [[Cuddesdon Theological College]]. He was ordained an [[Church of England|Anglican]] priest in 1978. In 1990 he spent a year at Fooltime (now [[Circomedia]]), a circus training college in [[Bristol]], and became a professional clown.<ref name = "telegraph" /> He served in parallel as an associate vicar at St Mary the Virgin Church in [[Olveston]].<ref name="economist" />

After serving as a parish priest, Bain decided to convey the Christian message through a different route, inspired by his lifelong love of clowns. His father had written a biography of the famous clown [[Joseph Grimaldi]]. As a young boy, Bain had loved the sad-faced clown [[Nicolai Poliakoff|Coco]]. So he took a clown's training and became a free-lancefreelance clown-priest, presenting the Gospel message through jokes and pratfalls. He performed in churches, conference halls, hospitals, schools, football fields, and prisons. He would enter the venue on a unicycle, open with the invocation "Let us play!", and preach while balancing on (or falling from) a [[Slacklining|slackrope]], a speciality of Bain.<ref name = "economist" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rNeM9SRK24kC|title=Serious Play: Modern Clown Performance|last=Peacock|first=Louise|date=1 January 2009|publisher=Intellect Books|year=|isbn=9781841502410|location=|pages=161|language=en|via=}}</ref> Like Coco, Bain performed as an [[Clown#White clown and Auguste|Auguste]], a clumsy character who is on the receiving end of water buckets and accidents, and who often works as a foil to the more clever and arrogant stage personality of the white-faced clown. According to Bain, the Auguste role allowed him to provide a mirror to everyday personalities, if it was not too exaggerated.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lxagAwAAQBAJ|title=How to Become a Creative Church Leader: A MODEM Handbook|last=Nelson|first=John|date=28 February 2008|publisher=Canterbury Press|year=|isbn=9781853118135|location=|pages=17ff|language=en|via=}}</ref> He often took on the [[stock character]] roles of the Jester and the Vulnerable Lover.<ref name = "website" /> He performed routines like juggling and egg-smashing and blew [[soap bubble]]s. According to his website, he had [[pieing|custard-pied]] ten bishops, and "most were grateful – or at least happy to play".<ref name = "website">{{cite web|url=http://www.rolybain.co.uk/index_files/Page590.htm|title=Why, What & Where|work=Roly Bain website|accessdateaccess-date=8 June 2017|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021123408/http://www.rolybain.co.uk/index_files/Page590.htm|archivedatearchive-date=21 October 2016}}</ref>

Bain traced the origins of his clown ministry to the "[[Foolishness for Christ|holy fools]]" and "[[Feast of Fools|feasts of fools]]" of the [[Middle Ages]], and quoted [[Paul the Apostle|Saint Paul]] saying "We are fools for Christ.". ([[1 Corinthians 4]]:10)<ref name="guardian" /> He was the only Church of England priest to work full-time as a clown. He once said, “That"That is the only sort of clowning I do: getting across the Christian message to different audiences in different ways".”<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2004/19-march/features/playing-the-fool-for-christ|title=Playing the fool for Christ|date=2 November 2006|work=Church Times|accessdateaccess-date=4 September 2016}}</ref> He took his act to Europe, America, and Australia. He was partially supported by a non-profit organisation called The Faith and Foolishness Trust, which supports clown-priests.<ref name="economist">{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/obituary/21706222-reverend-roly-bain-clown-priest-died-august-11th-aged-62-let-us-play|title=Let us play: The Reverend Roly Bain, clown-priest, died on August 11th, aged 62|date=3 September 2016|worknewspaper=The Economist|accessdateaccess-date=4 September 2016}}</ref> In 1982, he helped to set up Holy Fools, an organisation to support clown ministry.<ref name="telegraph" /> He was a member of both the College of Evangelists and Clowns International; at Clowns International he served as chaplain.<ref name = "guardian" />

He wrote several books: ''Fools Rush In'' (1993), ''Clowning Glory'' (1995, with Patrick Forbes), and ''Playing the Fool'' (2001), a memoir. In 1994, he was named Clown of the Year by [[Clown#Clowns International|Clowns International]], and in 1999 he received Clowns International's Slapstick prize.<ref name="telegraph">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/08/22/the-reverend-roly-bain-priest-and-clown--obituary/|title=The Reverend Roly Bain, priest and clown – obituary|date=22 August 2016|work=The Telegraph|accessdateaccess-date=4 September 2016}}</ref><ref name="times">{{cite news|url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/reverend-david-roly-bain-9wcpxgxz2|title=Obituary: Reverend David 'Roly' Bain|date=31 August 2016|work=The Sunday Times|accessdateaccess-date=4 September 2016}}</ref>

A 1996 German monograph by Angelika Richter and Lori Zonner in the ''[[Journal of Religion and Health]],'' described by [[Marc Abrahams]] in his book ''This Is Improbable'', called Bain the most prominent spiritual clown in England.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://booksarchive.google.comorg/books?iddetails/thisisimprobable0000abra_v0i5|url-access=AdryW0Y9tuYCregistration|title=This is Improbable: Cheese String Theory, Magnetic Chickens and Other WTF Research|last=Abrahams|first=Marc|date=7 March 2013|publisher=Oneworld Publications|isbn=9781851689750|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/jan/12/improbable-research-clowns|title=Clowning for Christ – dos and don'ts|last=Abrahams|first=Marc|date=11 January 2010|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|access-date=9 September 2016}}</ref> The "Clown" entry in the ''Encyclopedia of Christian Education'' mentions Bain, adding that clown ministry is "an authentic way of doing theology" which offers unique insights into the nature of God and humanity, and as such has been accepted by mainline denominations.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e6YoCQAAQBAJ|title=Encyclopedia of Christian Education|lastlast1=Kurian|firstfirst1=George Thomas|last2=Lamport|first2=Mark A.|date=7 May 2015|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=|isbn=9780810884939|location=|pages=302–303|language=en|via=}}</ref> Sandra Billington's 2015 book ''A Social History of the Fool'' describes the inspirational aspects of the clownerie and its spread of "a kind of mental oxygen". She draws parallels between Bain celebrating the Christian [[Court Jester|court jester]] (for example, in his 2001 book) and similar publications such as 1999's ''The Corporate Fool'', which advocates "creative folly" in the workplace.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7cTuBgAAQBAJ|title=A Social History of the Fool|last=Billington|first=Sandra|date=19 March 2015|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=9780571299997|location=|pages=first page of the 2015 preface|language=en|via=}}</ref>

HeBain married the former Jane Smith in 1984; they separated in 2008. The couple had two sons, Jack and Samuel Bain. He died of cancer in 2016 at the age of 62.<ref name="guardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/aug/21/the-rev-roly-bain-obituary|title=The Rev Roly Bain obituary|last=Bates|first=Stephen|date=21 August 2016|work=The Guardian|accessdateaccess-date=4 September 2016}}</ref>

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050312215823/http://www.rolybain.co.uk/ Bain's website]