In an hour of clowning that stands tall amongst the range of contemporary clown shows available at the Fringe, in Francisco de Nata the fabulously funny Francisco takes the audience with him on the mission of hanging the laundry, painting his grandmother’s ceiling before she returns, and more unexpected antics. The audience is treated to the pleasure of pure play, and the joy of being “gloriously, unapologetically stupid.”
Keaton Guimarães-Tolley is a RADA and École Phillipe Gualier-trained clown and actor, whose performance as Francisco is unwaveringly faithful to the core tenants of the clown ethos. Francisco approaches his missions with an unfiltered child-like enthusiasm, a truly delightful innocence, and a bemusing clumsiness. Clown shows usually thrive in smaller rooms that facilitate audience co-creation by not inserting a distance between them and the performer, but even with that in consideration, the venue was notably enclosed. Guimarães-Tolley makes excellent use of a space that could have easily felt cramped, successfully steering clear of any awkwardness and creating an intimate and electric environment. He builds a bond with the audience with tomfoolery and endearing ‘soft eyes’ (the way clowns look at audiences with an open and uncritical warmth).
Despite Francisco being a giraffe in a G-string, the show is not crude or raunchy, rather tastefully light-hearted. His humour doesn’t risk making anyone uncomfortable – but it is certainly not stale, and it is truly thrilling. It is an innovative example of contemporary clowning that maintains the classic physical comedy style of characters like Mr Bean, while bearing some similarity to more contemporary examples of clown-humour like Despicable Me’s Minions; Guimarães-Tolley utilises innocent mischief, perpetual rise after frequent failure, and body language-heavy communication. Further, it is worth noting that, as light-hearted and playful Guimarães-Tolley is throughout the show, he is also capable of creating deeply emotive moments, for instance while displaying his puppetry talents.
The performance displays a mastery of physical theatre, with an impressive range of facial expressions, exaggerated gestures, and a rare few perfectly timed (usually frustrated) murmurings. This is effectively supported by a wonderful range of sound effects (from Guimarães-Tolley’s vocalisations as well as a sound technician with impeccable timing and humour).
I went into this show following another silent clown show that I found to be rather disappointing, and made me somewhat doubtful of my enjoyment of the genre entirely. But the fun of Francisco de Nata reminded me of the beautiful nonsense, radical vulnerability, and pure joy the genre can deliver. Whether you’re a long-time clown lover or entirely uninitiated, I’d highly recommend Francisco de Nata – the best clown show the Fringe has to offer.
Francisco de Nata is running until 30 August (excluding the 18th) at Clover at Underbelly, Bristo Square.
Buy tickets here.
Image by Jennifer Forward-Hayter, provided to The Student as press material.
