Western News: July 04, 2024

4
Thursday July 4 2024
‘Loud, naughty and disruptive’
• From page 1
Attendees are encouraged to
dress up and watch the parade of
performers followed by a dance
party.
The festival promises 16 days
of theatre, dance and exhibitions
for audiences of all ages at venues
throughout Lyttelton.
Artists like Lyttelton
multi-instrumentalist Carmel
Courtney and Queenstownbased
juggler Paul Klaass are part
of the line-up.
Under Waters’ tutelage, 22
women and non-binary people
have been learning the art of
clowning through a feminist
lens at the Lyttelton Recreation
Centre.
“The clown scene internationally
is quite male dominated, so I
was very interested in empowering
other voices.”
She has more than a decade of
experience in creating acclaimed
comedy, theatre and short films
which have played to sell-out
crowds in Australia and the
United Kingdom.
Waters has found traditional
clown training to be restrictive,
with women typically limited to
feminine and sidekick roles.
“There’s the idea that women
always had to be quite small
and pretty and quirky. I’m
quite interested in taking up
some space and being loud and
naughty and disruptive,” she said.
The posse ranges in age from
GIGGLES AND GAGS: The Feminist Clown Posse is a Lyttelton-based troupe focused on
learning the jester arts through a progressive lens.
early 20s to those in their 60s,
with some being experienced
performers and others complete
novices.
“It’s all about embracing who
you are and then whatever
silliness you have in your core
will shine.”
The posse has attracted
wannabe clowns from Banks
Peninsula and Christchurch, who
have been training together since
February.
Their LytFest show will feature
various skits, gags and crowd
interaction.
“It’s all very based in that
connection with the audience
and finding gold in failures.”
Waters moved to Lyttelton
from Wellington in 2022 and
immersed herself in the arts
scene.
“It’s full of really interesting
artists and the community spirit
here is just beautiful.”
Born in rural Queensland, the
41-year-old always had a taste for
performance art and travelled
the world to study under French
LEGACY: An all-female clown
troupe from Christchurch,
pictured in 1918. A Pierrot
Troupe was a group of
entertainers who performed
fundraising variety shows in
Canterbury and across New
Zealand during World War 1.
master clown Philippe Gaulier.
“I’ve become a teacher myself
and it’s a real gift being able to
help people flourish and step out
of their boundaries.”
Waters’ posse has found
inspiration in all-female clown
troupes from Canterbury’s
history.
“It’s really incredible to have
brought this to Lyttelton and
to be sort of stepping on the
shoulders of those who came
before.”
• The schedule and tickets
for all the LytFest shows are
available at https://lytfest.
nz/
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