• Gaea Anastas is giving a rare glimpse into feminist clowning
A CABARET giving Freo audiences a rare glimpse into the art of feminist clowning will transform Bar Orient into a wonderland later this month.
OnlyClowns was created by Freo artist Gaea Anastas who says the show is a “satirical” commentary on her experiences as a woman and artist.
Clowning is exactly what it says on the label – a practice of physical comedy and silliness, and in OnlyClowns, it is woven with Ms Anastas’ desire to “challenge norms” by “embodying the clown”.
“It’s about being able to maybe take something that’s a bit taboo or even traumatising and create something funny and be able to share that with an audience,” Ms Anastas said.
“But still be able to entertain and make people laugh.”
OnlyClowns, which is “very much adults-only”, is an interactive performance of physical comedy aimed at bringing people together to encourage laughter and shared comedic experience for those who may consider themselves “on the fringe” of art or comedy.
“I’m working very much in that burlesque-like area,” Ms Anastas said.
“It is satirical, but it also has an element of playfulness.
“I want to give people permission to find that in themselves.”
While there have been some notable female clowns through history, such as 17th century jester Mathurine de Vallois who was reported to have saved French King Henry IV from an assassination attempt, they have faced a stigma that comedy and women weren’t a suitable mix.
As Canadian clown and university researcher Jacqueline Russell noted in a 2020 thesis, many had to resort to adopting genderless personas in order to pursue their passion.
“The concept of the clown as genderless has pervaded clown training and performance for centuries,” Dr Russell said.
“In the 70s, with the surge of second-wave feminism, women began to play female/ feminine clowns, claiming space for their own sexuality and gender expressions.”
Ms Anastas is trained in theatre and circus, but found an opportunity to express “comic relief” in clowning – in stark contrast to the rigidity of circus and other performance art.
“I like it because it
doesn’t have to be perfect and it can break you free of that perfectionism,” she said.
“It’s more authentic.”
As a “feminist clown”, Ms Anastas says she is “subverting” the social construct of what it means to be a woman which is so often tied to the idea of perfectionism whether it be physical beauty, career, and domesticity.
“There’s still very much that idea that you have to be beautiful and womanly and sexy,” she said.
“I can’t take myself seriously to be so brushed up and polished that way.
“I like to be a bit grotesque and visceral, and I’m embracing that with clowning.
“I’m trying to break down those rigid ideas and clowning is a really good way to do that.”
OnlyClowns is a product of comedy collective The Silly Town Circus, of which Ms Anastas is creative director.
Silly Town began as an art and live events brand before transitioning into a circus in 2021, and has “evolved in time” as part of Ms Anastas’ clowning act.
“For me, the work is about kind of putting the underdog on the centre stage,” she told the Herald.
OnlyClowns will be held in the Chesterfield Lounge in Bar Orient in Freo on July 24 from 7pm. Tickets are available from https://events.humanitix.com/ clowns-only-silly-town-circus
by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER