Cara Vita: A Clown Concerto was created and performed by Felicity Hesed. Felicity developed this show with Director Jeff Raz and Violinist Clare Armenante for its world premiere at the San Francisco International Arts Festival in May of 2019.
Cara Vita: A Clown Concerto takes us on a journey of romance, retaliation and rage. A thrilling exploration of relations through many a medium of storytelling from puppetry to mime to AERIAL! (Yes, that is correct: AERIAL!) Hesed takes an immersive experience to (literally) new heights with breath taking stunts and at just an arm’s length
Armenante is, not only a brilliant musician creating such an ambient sound within the Cavern theatre at the Vault festival, but also works really well with Hesed to play extremely entertaining musical games with the audience. Hesed also established some brilliant games with us from the get-go including babies, bad boys and booze – I can only advise you to practise your sight-reading skills in case she needs a hand!
Aside from Hesed’s aerial brilliance, her command of clown is very engaging. I think there are a few games that could be further developed, for example: the dropping of the kids’ clothes underneath the armpit; but this could just be due to a shy audience.
The extraordinary circumstances of Armenante having a break and eating a meal-for-one whilst Hesed remains depleted in a laundry basket isn’t something you see very often and very deserving of appreciation. Similarly, there are a lot of games throughout the first sections of Cara Vita: A Clown Concerto that deserve a laugh a minute.
Raz’s direction is clear and concise with a great story that has us laughing for the most part but then also excels many a clown show by giving us a real story of sacrifice and regret, leaving Hesed in a much less achieving state than when she is playing gorgeous mime games.
The standout content for me, that I rarely find in physical theatre and clown shows, is the quality of the relationship between Hesed’s joyful creativity and Armenante’s live music. The way that they work to find entertainment in performance and physicality is really very wonderful to watch and be a part of.
Of course, I’d also be a fool not to mention just how incredible it is to see such aerial antics in a venue as intimate as the Vault festival and at such an affordable cost you’d be missing out on a fantastic show – so do yourself a favour and catch Cara Vita: A Clown Concerto at The Vault Festival before it closes 16th Febuary!
