My (Almost) Excellent (European) Adventure: A Photo Album

As some of you may have heard me wail, my six weeks in Europe this past spring ended on a dismal note, as my backpack was stolen in the Cherbourg train station, and with it my laptop containing a lot of recent (brilliant!) writing. And because I am —when all is said and done— a Total Idiot, most of it was not backed up.

In clown terms, it was in fact a perfect storm of stupidity: A Google cloud account where I backed up everything manually but never got around to learning how to do it automatically. An Apple iCloud account where I had exceeded my storage limit and had not gotten around to paying for more. A Microsoft OneDrive account that for some reason did not work; I already forget why. Did I say a perfect storm? I meant a perfect shit-storm.

But on to more cheerful news. The trip really was a great adventure for me, which is the not-so-secret reason I still do it. It was great to meet and get to work with so many warm and interesting people. A real privilege, in fact. And the diversity was truly amazing. In Leipzig I worked with a radical-feminist wrestling troupe. In Zagreb I did a library lecture on the history of clowning —my first such talk since I wrote the book 50 years ago— and was in the audience for the European premiere of Michael Zerphy’s Bedutzed, a show first developed at out very own Falling Coyote Studios. In Vienna I taught at a circus center, and in London I taught mostly stand-up comedians at the Comedy School. (You have to be adaptable!)  In between, I visited the Circus ‘n’ Cheese Farm in northern Austria, attended the Zagreb Clown Festival, spent a drunken night amidst the secret passageways of the Circus and Clown Museum in Vienna, saw at least five shows in London, including Gifford’s Circus, and in Belfast visited the Beat Carnival headquarters and the Belfast Circus School. And had two 3-day sojourns in Paris, where I got to dine with Lee Delong once and Caroline Simonds twice. So not complaining…

One impression I came away with was how much circus and clown activity there was in Europe compared to the United States. Yes, clown and circus are both growing here, but we are not yet at anywhere near the magnitude of Europe. And it is happening there very much as part of a whole general counter-cultural movement. The people doing circus and clown in Europe are usually politically involved in the fight against neo-fascism and in the struggle to combat climate change. They are usually strong proponents of gender equality and they live lives less dependent on the corporate economy. Speaking as a never-reformed hippie from the late 60s, early 70s, I am encouraged by that. And to see that what they do theatrically is seen as part of the struggle. Not just what they do, but how they train, teach, market, and share. Yah!

Some photos, and please check back for some more detailed reporting on a few of the highlights.

Paris

Leipzig

Circus ‘n’ Cheese Farm (Pabneukirchen, Austria)

Zagreb, Croatia

Vienna

London

Cavan, Ireland

Driving mostly on the left side of the road (nobody’s perfect) I got us to Cavan alive, where we spent a day and night with old clown friends Kim McCafferty and Con Horgan aka The Fanzinis, who studied with me at Jango Edwards’ Nouveau Clown Institute in Barcelona back in 2016. They are a talented and successful clown duo who perform widely throughout Ireland and on the continent. In between, Con directs the annual National Circus Festival of Ireland in Tralee, and Kim the just-as-annual Cavan Arts Festival And they are raising two young children, at least one of whom is clearly a clown. Their ability to “do it all” is a testament to the government support the arts get in Ireland, and to the efforts of the Irish Street Arts, Circus & Spectacle Network (aka ISACS) in promoting our kind of work.

Belfast

I’ve visited the Republic of Ireland many times, but this was my first trip to Belfast. I was impressed by its energy and optimism, as it continues its recovery from the decades-old Troubles. Where the streets once were battlefields , barricades, and booby traps, they are now home to an amazing array of music, vibrant street art, and circus and spectacle performance. I used to live across the street from the Ramones and around the corner from CBGB’s, whose owner lived in our building, but I had no idea that Belfast had a strong punk rock tradition. In fact, it is credited with giving Protestant and Catholic youth something to bond over (the music) and places to mingle (punk bars) during the 70s, once even rioting together when a Clash concert was canceled.  Of course Belfast is also steeped in traditional Irish music and in modern rock, pop ,and soul. (Van Morrison is from Belfast).  No wonder it has been officially recognized as a UNESCO City of Music,. But I digress.  Here’s some of that street art:

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At the Belfast Circus

Before heading south, we had a qiock visit to the Belfast Circus, which is both a training center and a producer of shows.

 

Dublin

Dublin is not new to me, having taught there and directed a show there, but it is always good to get back… even if tourists have driven prices sky-high.  It was great to spend a little time with Terry Dineen, who I firat worked with in New York in the 80s, and with Ria Corcoran, whose show I directed in Dublin back in pre-Covid days. I was also blown away by a performance by Irish Legend John Nee, Johnny Got A Bus Pass — Little John Nee at the Bealtine Festival. There does not seem to be any video of him that would give you a real sense of the range of his performance talents, but he is some wonderful mix of storyteller, musician, and comedian. One of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time, so catch him if you ever can.

That’s it for now, but individual posts coming soon on the Circus ‘n’ Cheese Farm, the Zagreb Clown Festival, and Vienna’s Circus and Clown Museun.