Zagreb, May 5, 2023 – As part of the 4th editon of Zagreb Clown Festival, May 11th to 14th, world-famous clowns are bringing laughter, fun and good vibes to Croatian audiences!
KUC Travno is hosting Zagreb Clown Festival 2023 which will take place from May 11th to 14th, bringing Croatian audiences the opportunity to enjoy six performances by world-famous figures in the world of clown art. The festival is organized by Triko Cirkus Teatar, and this year the theme is perseverance. The theme will be delivered in six different clown shows coming from USA, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Serbia, France and Croatia. In addition to the performances, the audience will also be able to participate in a panel about the regional clown scene. The panel will be moderated by Barnaby King, and there will also be a master class in clowning and physical comedy by the world-famous artist John Towsen. The festivals’ Clown Cafes will be open for visitors and friends and will give an opportunity for all to communicate, exchange experinece and meet artists.
From May 11th to 14th , the 4th edition of Zagreb Clown Festival will be held in the Travno Cultural Center (KUC Travno). Zagreb will host world-famous names of physical comedy and clown art. According to Iva Peter-Dragan, the artistic director of Triko Cirkus Theater, the organizer of the festival, the theme of this year’s festival is perseverance and everything that term implies as a term in everyday life. In the 4th edition of this unique festival in Croatia, the organizers have prepared a great international program with a special EX YU block of performances and John Towsen’s clowning and physical comedy master class, which will be held from May 11th to 13th as part of the festival. “Preparations for this year’s festival began last year with the call for artists. We received more than 50 applications, and based on the theme of the festival, which is perseverance, we selected those that best fit the entire theme and that we found are of exceptional artistic value. The topic is extremely important for a clown. Everyone involved in clowning knows this. Not only is the art of clowning quite marginalized itself, but perseverance in clowns hides in abandoning the most logical patterns of behavior and showing his way of tackling a problem or a challenge and achieving success. This sometimes requires a lot more energy than if we had decided to act ”normally”. But, also investing that energy creates a lot of fun and very often comic situations arise from it. Perserverance in order to make the audience laugh and everything that happens in our failures in order to achieve it, that is the clown’s way that leads to success, and that is why it is the theme of this year’s festival”, explained Iva Peter-Dragan, organizer of Zagreb Clown Festival.
The festival program includes six shows that will make us laugh
During the four days of the festival, the audience will be able to enjoy six shows performed by artists from the USA, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Serbia, France and Croatia. The first day brings the Italian artist Angela Delfini. She will “explain everything to us” in her comedy called “Angela Delfini will explain everything to you”. A day later, on May 12th, the Serbian artist Stefan Ostojić brings to the stage his folklore-clown solo show “Lala” to share with us the love for tradition, culture and the history of his native region – Northern Banat and the city of Kikinda in a way that the audience has never seen before. On the same day in front of KUC Travno, Triko Cirkus Teatar will perform their clown show “MMMaid”, in which two maids, instead of working as a theme, see each other as competition. The day ends with the Slovenian artist Tina Janežič and her show “The Chair Tamer” who has a special relationship with her chair. On the third day, May 13th, there is a special surprise for those over 18. The world-famous clown troupe The Hot Clown Company from Chicago will take the stage, and their witty performance will have its premiere in Zagreb. The name of the show is “Hot Clown Sex”, and the organizers say that it is definitely worth watching. The program of the 4th Zagreb Clown Festival closes on May 14th with the performance of Tanja Simma, an Austrian clown who will introduce herself to the audience with her hit show “Anna de Lirium – Live Concert!” Anna will make us laugh in her recognizable, authentic way as a wild and lovable clown.
Zagreb becomes the meeting place of the world clown scene with the 4th edition of Zagreb Clown Festival
In the official program of the festival, the audience will be able to participate in a panel moderated by Barnaby King on the state of the regional clown scene. Barnaby King is a world-famous clown and the founder of the “Clown Spirit” platform, which unites clowns around the world and offers both practical and theoretical education. “Festivals are places for socializing and networking, and the arrival of Barnaby King is important for our festival and its recognition in the world. During the festival, he will broadcast live interviews with the participants, and the play “MMMaid” will be broadcasted live as well on his channel Clown Spirit. I am also happy and honored to have John Towsen with us this year. John is the author of a legendary book on clowns “The Clowns”. Lee Delong, an actress and clown who played on the biggest Parisian stages will join us too and the festival also brings a play directed by Jango Edwards, the indispensable figure of the clown theater of our time who made a kind of clown revolution with his festival The Festivals of Fools. With this festival, Zagreb really becomes the centre of the world clown scene”, Peter-Dragan pointed out.
During the etire time of the festival, the CLOWN CAFFE will be open. Located in Vlaška 92, that will be a meeting place for artists and the audience.
The program of the 4th edition of Zagreb Clown Festival is supported by the Kultura nova Foundation, the Republic of Croatia, Ministry of Culture and Media City of Zagreb.
You can find the complete program on the Triko Circus Theater website: www.trikocirkusteatar.com
Tickets are available at: www.ulaznice.hr.
You can buy group and festival tickets by contacting Triko Circus Theater at: [email protected].
Venue: KUC Travno, Božidara Magovca 17, Zagreb.
