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Performing arts students
keep famous clowning legacy alive
AS hundreds of clowning performers
from across Britain prepare for the annual Joseph Grimaldi memorial service,
Edge Hill University performing arts students are studying the great
entertainer's legacy.
This Sunday marks 179 years since Grimaldi's passing, with the 19th Century
London entertainer regarded as a trailblazer of the Arts, creating the
modern clown's comic clobber and antics.
By exploring the work of clowning practitioners such as Grimaldi, Charlie
Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Marcel Marceau and more, Edge Hill University
Performing Arts Students have the opportunity to learn about clowning
history and physical comedy, and to incorporate valuable circus and clowning
skills in their personal performance style.
Barnaby King, Edge Hill Lecturer in performing arts and clowning, said that
Edge Hill students learn the political and personally vulnerable aspects of
the art form that allowed Grimaldi to poke fun at the establishment, whilst
making a point about complex social issues. "There are sporadic
examples of contemporary comedy that reflect political clowning. Sacha Baron
Cohen, who was himself trained by French clowning instructor Gaulier, in his
many inventive alter egos often seeks to expose bunkum and hypocrisy.
Stephen Colbert often seeks to critique the establishment and leadership,
most famously to George W. Bush's face at the 2006 White House
Correspondent's Dinner. While the performance component of clowning
reflects the light and creative side of the industry, this ability to
interpret issues of social and political importance to engage people in a
unique way is the essence of Grimaldi's legacy. I am proud to see a new
generation of English performers keeping this important art form alive."
he said.
Mr King explained that Grimaldi's memorial also provides an opportunity to
reflect on the state of clowning in 21st Century culture. "When we
think of clowns, our minds often leap to the larger than life image of a
clown with crazy hair, grotesque face paint, big shoes, red nose and perhaps
a tiny clown hat: think Bozo, Ronald Macdonald, or even Pennywise in Stephen
King's It.
While such popular notions of clowning remain prevalent in the media, and at
immersive Halloween scare performances,
the reality of clowning in the 21st Century is a far cry from these
stereotypical antics."
Edge Hill University has run modules in circus and clown performance as part
of the Performing Arts Degrees for the past 5 years with great enthusiasm
and engagement from students.
Barnaby King is a performer, scholar and teacher with a special interest in
clowning, comedy, circus and popular performance. He regularly performs in
and directs his own work and is the founder and director of the:- 'Clownencuentro Internacional', a foundation based in Colombia that promotes
learning,
training and research in the field of clowning, particularly focusing on
Latin America.
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