When the clowns were in town

The International Clown Festival was held in the City recently with clowns from around the globe galvanising and mesmerising the crowd with their talent and charm.

The festival saw the coming together of five fantastic clowns — Dee Dee, the President of the World Clown Association, Puff, a Canada-based artiste, Lolo, who loves her elaborate make-up, Toto, who enjoys teaching clowning and has lectured on the art of clowning and lastly Flubber, a Mumbai-based clown.

With their colourful and funky clothes, and bold make-up they looked lively and fun. The stage at Royal Orchid Hotel was lit up with various colours as the five entertained the crowd.

The clowns engaged the audience with their silly pranks, jokes, songs, dances and juggling acts. Although the show was targeted at kids, even adults appreciated their performances like physical comedy, vocal comedy, juggling, balloons, songs and more.

All the artistes put on a fantastic show and the receptive audience helped them make the show even more powerful. The clowns juggled with various props ranging from balls and rings, to sticks, as the audience went gaga over the talent and skill of the artistes.

Towards the end of the show, the clowns interacted with the audience over snacks and posed for pictures with the kids. Children were excited as they were given the opportunity to wear funky costumes.

Komal, a 12-year-old, said, “I really liked the juggling act. It was exciting and I was thrilled to watch it live.”  While most people were excited by the show, there were those who were frightened by the clowns. But the parents of the children were happy about the show. 

Rashim, who accompanied her 6-year-old daughter, said, “My child did not enjoy the show very much because she got a bit scared. But this is the first time I saw a clown show and it was wonderful to watch their skills being put into action in such a fun manner.” Talking about her performance in Bangalore, Lolo said, “The laughter we received was the most genuine, one of the most awesome responses we have ever received across the world.”

Dee Dee said, “Clowning is fun. For adults, it’s like a healing process; we make people laugh and make them forget all their worries. For children it’s live entertainment. Clowning is not a circus, it’s an art. We touch peoples’ heart and not merely make them laugh.”

Adding to that, Puff said, “We want more Indian clowns to emerge and that is the reason why the international artistes come here to perform. We want to make people aware about clowning as an art form which needs to be valued as much as other art forms.”