Hannah Hamilton
Who better to end the loneliness epidemic than a clown? In 2023 the World Health Organisation declared there was a ‘loneliness’ epidemic, and they have sent Almost the clown to change that one audience at a time. It’s a sweet and gentle hour of comedy, with a lot of heart behind it.
In classic clown fashion, the audience are very much part of the show. One of Almost’s solutions to loneliness is to make us feel seen, and this is in practice from the very beginning of the show. There is a childish joy to this clown, which is very endearing. It does, however, stray from it’s strengths at times and could perhaps use some further structure to make it truly cohesive.
Almost takes a survey, they ask the room who feels lonely and nearly every hand goes up. This does not surprise, but it does create a touching sense of unity in the room. The artist has chosen a topic with great relevance to the modern world, the content of the show is easy to grasp and universally relatable. The structure of the performance then becomes focused on making the audience change their answers. This show encourages vulnerability in the audience as well as the performer.
This very much feels like an exploration of ‘Le Joue’ clowning, with Almost inviting the audience to join their play. This interaction is pleasing thematically as it necessitates participation and thus community. We all share a goal; to be less lonely. Silliness is a vessel to that end, as the audience dances with the clown, watches them celebrate and spit take. It’s lovingly performed, and there are some good classic gags in the performance, but at times it felt like the physical comedy could be snappier and further emphasised to have better effect.
The show suffers at times from containing too much. The artist death drops and juggles, clearly showing great talent, but it did not always feel cohesive with the full piece. Clowning is not necessarily a paragon of logic, but the effectiveness of a bit can be muted completely by it’s disconnect to the rest of the content. Further exploration and refinement of the elements that work best in this context, like the mirroring exercise performed by the clown, and the gags that made situational sense. I would like to see this idea refined and given further substance by expanding upon the phenomenon of loneliness. At times, the performance felt afraid of looking at the ‘negative’, but this could create a really beautiful contrast with the piece’s whole message.
Overall, a wholesome and whimsical clown show. Almost does their best to make every audience member feel seen and included, and that is a really beautiful goal.
Recommended drink: A berry tea, soothing and a bit whimsical.
Catch Here Comes Almost at Playground 1 at ZOO Playground from 7-30th August (not 17, 24) at 21:30 (1 hr). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Box Office.
Salvador Kent
Roe McDonnell
