Reflections from our Porto Protest Action

What happens when you support the political messaging? And what if there is no clear target? The clowns become the target.

 It’s Labour Day, Sunday 1 May. A bank holiday that internationally is used to defend workers’ rights. In the centre of Porto hundreds had gathered; unions, workers groups, veterans and anarchist groups, brandishing banners and flags to highlight their cause. We most certainly supported the event but wondered what would the role of the clown be if we went to play in that political space. Could we fulfil our role as commentators and also as activators and change-makers? As we began to discuss this the same questions arise; what’s the point? why are we doing this? is it insensitive to bring mockery and humour to those politically charged spaces? As always I ask the clowns to come with a sense of research; let’s try it and see what happens. If we intellectualise or talk to much, we’ll talk ourselves out of going.

The group settled on the idea of dressing as a Syndicate of Bosses. Playing with authority and parody provided lots of games, both supportive and provocative. For instance, the call ‘Anti-stress’ resulted in long massage lines and culminated in a huge circle meditation that easily involved lots of participants in the game. The bosses could also congratulate workers on a job well done which had increased their profits. And when the bosses yelled ‘get back to work’ this elicited playful boos from one group of workers. Here the clowns provide a provocation that can help spectators to express unspoken or taboo ideas in a safe and playful way.

As always the territory the clowns play in is fluid and what we stand for is not always clear. Is that our power? Some spectators didn’t understand what we were doing, some violently pushed the clowns out of the way, which very quickly changed the playful atmosphere for the clowns. Some spectators were curious enough to watch for a bit longer, earning the reward of the ‘aha’ moment when they got the joke and our playful intention. What is certain is that these political spaces are sensitive and they take practice for clowns to remain connected, positive and playful and to greet all responses with open-hearted love. For love is truly what the clowns can bring.