"I remain just one thing, and one thing only, and that is a clown.
It places me on a far higher plane than any politician..." Charlie Chaplin
From kids' capers to risqué raunchy comedy, Clown Fest has something mad and surreal for everyone. It runs on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th July in and around a 100-seat pop-up tent, the Omnitorium, in Exchange Square, Manchester, and is well accessible, with entrance to all family shows on a Pay What You Want (PWYW) basis.
Salford based Billy Button is running a Kazoo Workshop' on Friday between 1:30pm and 2:30pm, teaching humming techniques that apparently guarantee you'll be playing like a Kazoo master, performing cover versions of popular tunes in an impromptu Kazoo Orchestra (PWYW).
The Amazing Mr Button will also be hosting The Clown Fest Bestest Cabaret in the North West on Friday (9pm-11:15pm £8) featuring the Ship of Fools, wacky scientist, Professor Walrus, Nana Funk, Inga The Singer and ex-Salford Uni grad, the hilarious Suzee Amato, plus many more.
Around the Omnitorium there will be walkabouts from Cyril the Squirrel, Little Wonder and The Bees performing their Waggledance.
Daytime family shows on the Pay What You Want basis include Flip Flap Maynard in Daft as a Brush, a show that includes a coat hanger escape, a singing baby and audience members racing biscuits; Captain Cauliflower and Marvin the Mischievous Moose heading on an adventure filled with extreme silliness and unquestionable danger; and Story Professors, trying to crack the formula for the perfect stories.
In the evenings, the mood turns more surreal with Bob Slayer's Whatever Next (£6.50), an award-winning political happening; Lucy Hopkins' Powerful Women Are About (£6.50), described as 'a vibrational revolution of being, channelled by a Goddess'; and Red Bastard's Lie With Me (£8), a show that aims to 'charm, disarm, shock and seduce'...
Clown Fest is two days of non-stop modern clowning with hardly a scary trad clown in sight. Something for all ages and all madcap tastes. Well worth checking out...
Clown Fest
Friday 28th July (11am - 11:15pm)
Saturday 29th July (10:30am - 10pm)
The Omnitorium
Exchange Square
Manchester
Tickets, even for the Pay What You Want shows can be reserved. For further details on this, plus more info on all the acts and age suitability see the Clown Fest website for full details – click here
The full line-up...
Friday 28th July
11am -12pm Flip Flap Maynard – Daft as a Brush (PWYW)
12:30pm - 1pm Story Professors – The Journey (PWYW)
1.30pm - 2pm Billy Button Kazoo Orchestra (PWYW)
2.30pm - 3.30pm Flip Flap Maynard – Daft as a Brush (Outside, PWYW)
4pm - 4.45pm Story Professors – The Journey II (PWYW)
Walkabout from Cyril the Squirrel
6pm - 7pm Bob Slayer: Whatever Next (£.6.50)
7.30pm - 8.30pm Lucy Hopkins: Powerful Women are About (£6.50)
9pm - 11.15pm The ClownFest Bestest Cabaret in the North West (£8)
Saturday 29th July
10.30am - 11am Walkabout from Little Wonder (PWYW)
Throughout the day – Walkabout from The Bees - Waggledance (PWYW)
11.15am - 11.45am Cyril the Squirrel (PWYW)
12.15pm - 12.45pm Little Wonder show (PWYW, Outdoor)
1.15pm - 2.15pm Captain Cauliflower and Marvin the Mischievous Moose (PWYW)
3pm -3.30pm Cyril the Squirrel (PWYW)
4.30pm – 5.30pm Pudding & Lulu (£6.50)
6pm – 7pm Roisin and Chiara: We Are Not Afraid (£6.50)
7.30pm - 8.30pm The Establishment: Eton Mess (£6.50)
9pm -10pm Red Bastard: Lie With Me (£8)
Main photo shows Salford's Billy Button