Robert Benz in Scaramouche Jones at the Edmonton Fringe Festival. Photo credit: dbphotographics.ca
Scaramouche Jones by Justin Butcher
August 12, 14 – 21 at Venue #42: Campus St. Jean’s Auditorium
More information: blarneyyeg.com
An interview with Braydon Dowler-Coltman.
Describe your show in five words.
A clown’s final curtain call.
Okay, now that we’re intrigued… what’s the longer description?
The strangely pale-faced child of a gypsy whore, Scaramouche was always fated to be a clown. But from his birth, at midnight on New Year’s Eve 1899 in a dingy Trinidad knocking shop, his life has been a vivid odyssey through extraordinary adventures, crumbling empires and the darkest episodes of the 20th century.
Now, as the champagne corks fly on millennium eve, Scaramouche is about to give his last and most important performance. He steps out from the circus ring, peels away his outer disguises and reveals the loves, brutalities, ecstasies and tragedies that created the seven white masks of Scaramouche Jones.
How did you come across Scaramouche Jones and what made you want to bring it to life?
I pulled it off the library shelf and became instantly entranced by it’s beauty, honesty and heartbreak. The detail within the writing is a masterclass in storytelling. The journey the character goes on is beyond captivating and from there I knew I had to embark on the journey of bringing it to the stage.
Can you give some background on the character Scaramouche Jones?
Scaramouche Jones is the son of a gypsy whore, and as such never knew his father. In the naiveté of the child, he creates an epic narrative of his absent father and holds tight to it with the naiveté of the clown throughout his adult life; regardless of its total implausibility.
What experiences do you think will resonate most with audiences as they see Scaramouche Jones?
The audience will experience a beautifully sculpted and descriptive story of a 100 year old clown trying to release himself as he shares his life odyssey, and the significant relationships he forges along the way – the 12 year old gypsy girl he saves by claiming her to be his betrothed, to the Somalian snake charmer who buys the slave child, and finally the Jewish children in the concentrations camps at Split where he first discovers the power of laughter.
Anything else you want audiences to know about the show?
This is a deeply human story which is certain to touch each audience member in an intimate and personal way.
The 35th Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival is August 11 – 21. Get your tickets at tickets.fringetheatre.ca.