The London Clown Festival is back for 2025, promising its most ambitious programme to date. Running from 16th June to 4th July, the festival will once again celebrate the art of clown and physical performance with a vibrant mix of UK and international acts.
Now a staple of the London comedy calendar, London Clown Festival has built a reputation for showcasing the most inventive and genre-defying performances in contemporary clowning.
This year’s edition introduces a new strand of Physical Theatre, highlighting work that incorporates clowning techniques in both development and performance.
Clowning, as championed by the festival, is a boundary-pushing art form that blends physical theatre, improvisation, and emotional honesty. Performers draw on a rich tradition of storytelling to create unforgettable moments of comedy and connection.
The 2025 festival will take place across two of London’s most dynamic venues: Soho Theatre and Jacksons Lane. These spaces will be transformed into playgrounds of absurdity, physical comedy, and creative chaos.
Audiences can expect everything from cabaret to avant-garde solo shows, each pushing the boundaries of what clowning can be in the 21st century.
Among the headline acts is The Weight of Shadow by Sasha Krohn, a haunting physical theatre piece that blends mime, dance, and aerial work. Fringe Review described it as “a truly exceptional performance… both a tormenting and beautiful portrayal of the human condition.”
Also featured is Red Bastard, the master of Bouffon, returning to London for the first time in eight years. His show promises that “somethingiInteresting must hevery ten seconds… andiIt will.”
Berlin’s chaotic art rock duo return with Otto & Astrid: The Stages Tour, delivering a lipstick-smeared sonic collision of Europop anthems.
Lachlan Werner: Wondertwunk offers a surreal circus of stunts and secrets from the “hilarious, extraordinary ventriloquist” (The Guardian).
Jessica Barton brings her award-winning debut Dirty Work to the UK, described as “a rising star and quadruple threat” (Australian Arts Review).
Other highlights include the Opening Cabaret, A Night of Drama—complete with bottomless banana peels—and the high-energy, queer feminist Naughty Cabaret to close the festival.
Founded in 2016, London Clown Festival continues to expand the public’s perception of clowning, sharing its joy and exhilaration with ever-growing audiences.
