|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Friday, 5 November 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Features | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
Clowns go to war by Elodie Maillot, journalist
It doesn't take a lot to put up the set. In the narrow alleyways of the Deir el Balah camp in Gaza (Palestine), in the midst of bombed out flats, the grey of the shaking concrete blocks and the endless faces of martyrs, all you need is a red curtain, a chequered cap, a tiny cycle and a red nose to captivate the audience. Suddenly, hundreds of pairs of young eyes are distracted from the Gaza Strip. This is the aim of the French organisation, Clowns sans frontieres - to provide an unusual form of humanitarian aid on a child's scale... For a little over ten years, more than four hundred and fifty artists have put on their make-up and paraded in size 45 shoes to tumble into crisis situations, from South America (Guatemala, Costa Rica and Argentina) to the Middle East (Lebanon, Jordan and Gaza), Asia, the Balkans and Africa (Algeria and Rwanda). In all these countries, with the support of the French Association for Artistic Action (Afaa), local and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and French cultural centres (CCF), the ephemeral troupe of Clowns sans frontieres works to offer a comic show to a young audience with little access to fun and games. The organisation was created in 1994, the idea of a musician, Anton in Maurel, with sponsorship from some big names in the French art world. The undertaking is supported by the hard work and good humour of circus artists, musicians, volunteer actors, students from the Ariane Mnouchkine drama school and actors from Peter Brook's company, who agree to perform free of charge-between engagements - for kids often deprived of their childhood. On the side of life In situations of extreme tension, how do you find the actions or the right words to raise a laugh? Indeed, the reception, especially from adults, can sometimes be a little frosty at first. It is easy to criticise, as an editorial writer on the daily newspaper Oslobodjenie, in former Yugoslavia, did, heading his article: "After the UN negotiators, Europe sends us clowns". Even though the members of Clowns sans Frontieres put their sporadic activities into perspective, they do take pleasure in the modest effect they can have. How could anyone not be moved by the children's smiles or their games after the inevitable distribution of red noses "The audience may vary from one place to another," says Luc Briard, CCF director in Gaza, "but it quickly senses the commitment of the artists who put on a really professional show and even adults allow themselves to be won over." "We are not on the side of politics," says Antonin Maurel, "but on the side of the children, on the side of laughter and of life."
For further information *Clowns sans frontieres, j'ai dix ans (Clowns without frontiers, I am ten years old), pub. Magellan et Cie, paris, 2003. * Clowns sans frontieres, 70 bis, rue de Romainville, 75019 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 42011414. (Courtesy Label France) |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
Where weapons have spoken, the sufferings of children are great. In
1994, a French organisation, Clowns sans frontieres, decided to respond to
horror with pleasure and laughter.
And to establish the work of the Clowns as a regular part of life, they
are now perpetuating their activities by going back regularly to visit the
same countries and setting up introductory arts or creative performance
workshops, as is the case in Madagascar, and soon, in India, the Republic
of Congo, Rwanda and Myanmar. A vast stage for a theatre company without
frontiers.
