Clown Shows Take Over Perth Fringe World: Top Performers Share Insights

An ancient art-form is once again the hottest ticket this comedy festival season. Last year, Garry Starr – the clown alter ego of Damien Warren-Smith — won top prize at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with his show Classic Penguins. Internationally, clowning acts like Julia Masli, Piotr Sikora (aka Furiozo) and Elf Lyons are among the most acclaimed shows on the festival circuit. For audiences, clowning shows offer something unpredictable and refreshingly silly. If you've ever watched stand-up and had an itch to chip in with your opinions, a clowning show might be right up your alley; these are shows where the performer actively encourages audience participation. Perth Fringe World — which runs from January 21 to February 15 — will feature an array of Australian clowning shows. Beyond clown shoes and silly wigs Jeromaia Detto is one of the clowns bringing his new show, Giuseppe's Love Quest, to Perth Fringe World. He says it's partly inspired by his own experiences looking for connection. "It is my alter ego, who's trying to understand what love is, asking the audience what their experiences of love have been, and then maybe learning how to apply that to his life," he says. Detto says that despite clowning's popularity, there are still misconceptions about what it is. "It's a tricky thing to communicate. "There is crossover with mime, sketch and character [comedy], but there is a vulnerability that underpins clown that you can't find in any other place. "It's exciting because you don't know why you're laughing." Instead of the old cliches, modern clowning is defined by its emphasis on physical comedy and playfulness. These shows move away from the performer being the sole focus and the audience being largely passive. Modern clowning shows are often largely unscripted, involving games and the performer 'playing' with the audience. But Melissa McGlensey, who grew up in the US but now calls Melbourne home, says clowning isn't about making fun of audience members, and there is an art to choosing the right people to play with. "In a lot of ways, that is the art; that is good clown," she says. "Bad clowning doesn't take the audience into consideration, and it gives us all a bad rap. "A clown's number one job is to be sensitive, to sense who wants to play and is comfortable on stage, and to sense who's not and then to move on immediately." A sense of play London-based Australian Josh Glanc has made waves in the comedy scene with his elaborate and silly clowning, often using costumes, songs and sound cues. Past shows have involved him serenading and dancing with audience members and drafting them onto stage to form an 'air instrument' band. He says choosing the right person from the crowd to interact with takes well-honed instincts. "It's not an intellectual thing; you've got to be in tune with your impulse. If you're a little bit panicky that night, you might pick the wrong person." Detto also does clowning shows for kids with fellow performer Jon Walpole, and has found that children are more eager to participate. "I think the magic of clown, and what we're trying to get out of the adults, is that sense of play, of unleashing that inner child," he says. "It's been so fascinating seeing adults where you can see in their eyes that they want to play but their bodies holding them back, they're feeling inhibited in some way." An offline art form for online times McGlensey has two shows at Perth Fringe World. In the award-winning Motorboat, she spends an hour on stage playing a "naughty-cal", sex-positive boat. Her second production, Normal, sees her try — and fail — to make a sensible comedy show. "This feels to me something totally new and different," she says of the current wave of clowning. "Clowns have been around forever, but this intense popularity of it feels really exciting." McGlensey initially did political satire before switching to clowning. She says this type of comedy may be growing in popularity because it offers audiences a chance to escape the news cycle. McGlensey also has a theory that clowning is having a moment because it offers an alternative to consuming comedy online. "If you want to see any stand-up in the world, you can do that in five seconds on your phone," she says. "The audience participation of clown makes it something you have to experience in person. The more that comedy is outsourced to online, the more clown becomes popular because it can only happen in the room." Serious training for silly shows While clowning is all about silliness in one sense, it's far from a performer just getting on stage and randomly mucking around. McGlensey, Glanc and Detto all trained under the famous Philippe Gaulier in France. Gaulier is famously hard to please, but Glanc says there is a method to the madness. "He's telling you you're shit, but he's trying to provoke, to move or generate something," Glanc explains. Glanc now teaches clowning himself and says the key to the art is openness. "It's not about performing. It's about stripping that back, sharing and just being with an audience." McGlensey says her time training with Gaulier was life-changing. "It all just sort of clicked into place because before [studying with Gaulier], my comedy was very cerebral, very 'standy-talky'. "I went to clown school to get in my body, and almost immediately, I made Motorboat, a very physical show." Comfort in chaos While many stand-up comedians painstakingly craft every word and inflection in their routine, clowns thrive in not knowing what their audience participants will do, making every show unique. Loading... Glanc describes his new show for Perth Fringe World as being, in part, a one-man musical with multiple characters. It's unlike anything he's done before, and that's the way he likes it. "I'm petrified," he says, smiling broadly over Zoom call. "I love the unpredictability. McGlensey also relishes the chaos of clowning. "What makes clown special is it is unpredictable," she says "When it's done right, it is ephemeral, sensitive and so beautiful". Melissa McGlensey's shows Normal runs from January 21 to February 1, while Motorboat runs from February 6-14. Josh Glanc's Brand New Show (Currently Unfinished and Untitled) runs from January 21 to February 1.