Edinburgh Festival Fringe has long been a home for scrappy, unusual, genre-bending works spanning the full range of media experiences, a place Homebound by Louisiana State University (LSU) Theatre & Film’s students settle in well. Performed in Sanctuary at Paradise in Augustines, Homebound is predominantly a work of nonverbal physical theatre utilising clowning, mime, and commedia del’Arte traditions alongside live music and acrobatics.
Clown performances exist in an alternate reality: while there are familiar experiences, ‘clown logic’ is very different from our own. For example, being surprised by a new person might lead to picking that person up and launching them over your shoulders where they gracefully tumble, turn around, squawk at you, and then launch themselves at you for another round.
‘Clown logic’ can make it tough to describe what narrative actually plays out onstage. The overview, generally, is two young female-presenting clowns, who I will refer to as Orange and Purple (outfit colours), meet and bond with each other; they get out of a few scrapes with male-presenting clowns, then meet a third female-presenting clown (Red), completing clown logic’s important Rule of 3. However, more problems with toxic men ensue, including a male clown kidnapping Red.
Orange and Purple are inconsolable, impervious to further male clown harassment, until they find Red in the retinue of a poncy king clown. Somehow, Purple gets married to the toxic prince clown and is also whisked away, leaving Orange alone. Fortunately, Orange comes up with a plan and saves her friends from the clutches of toxic masculinity. The three decide to settle down where they are, together, making the lyrics of the live music played throughout literal.
The company was directed by LSU Associate Professor of Movement Nick Erickson, an acting and physical performance specialist who has brought a troupe of LSU student actors to Edinburgh every year since 2008. The physical performances are quite impressive, though the show relies a little too heavily on acrobatic skill; more time developing a wider range of clown characters, particularly clown voices, would benefit the production.
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Additionally, the show’s description leans heavily on ‘cutting edge projection, live video feed, original immersive media’ as significant components of the show, when in reality these do not feel integrated into the world and, occasionally, were distracting from the clowns doing good work right in front of the audience. It is important for students to learn the dramaturgy of digital media in live performances, but this component of Homebound seemed much less thought-through compared to more traditional physical and musical skills.
To support student clowns in the ideal learning environment, see LSU’s Homebound at Sanctuary at Paradise in Augustines.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
