What happens when a pair of unassuming clowns take on the almighty forces of colonialism? In Colonial Circus, the answer is devastating and delightful – precisely because colonialism encompasses every imaginable human atrocity while remaining, somehow, absurdly normalized in our daily lives.
In the show, which is now playing at Aki Studio, creators and virtuoso performers Sachin Sharma and Shreya Parashar present what they call “a starter pack to ‘A Brief History of Colonization'” — through the perspective of two dancing, singing, gibberish-speaking Bouffons. These garish guides expose colonialism’s ugly truth: centuries of global division, death, and the infection of belief systems, mindsets, and interpersonal and international relations.
The choice of bouffon – clowning’s more subversive, grotesque cousin – is inspired. Unlike traditional clowns who seek approval through innocence and failure, bouffons mock through exaggerated mimicry, forcing audiences to confront uncomfortable truths through laughter. It’s the perfect vehicle for exposing colonialism’s inherent absurdity, while making us look its horrors straight in the eye.
Armed with just a few simple props – a chair, a bolt of red cloth, a stick figure – these alien circus-masters work in a representational and symbolic way to slip us past the kind of perfunctory acknowledgements and bromides that allow western civilization to go blithely about its business.
Result? From start to finish, Colonial Circus is a hilarious, engaging and communal experience. From start to finish, Colonial Circus is also disturbing, sobering – even repellent. Two things can be true at the same time.
The show opens in arresting fashion with our two clowns in a processional tour de force that fuses rhythmic marching, billowing fabric, reverberating sounds, and some amazing clowning and singing.
We have literally no idea what to make of it.
But fear not: like unapologetic theatrical colonists, our two intrepid clowns train us to engage with them, and with this story, on their terms. To bring us to heel, they use call-and-response, set pieces that shock or amuse, and friendly audience interactions that are powered by a wry, sly mixture of the opacity and openness at the root of the colonialist project.
The duo’s marvellous, mischievous journey spans from humanity’s evolution right up through through religious conquest, European imperialism, and the horrors of residential schools. Through bold symbolism and meticulous research, they compress vast tracts of territory and time with devastating theatrical shorthand.
And along the way, they suffer no fools: oppression by moral superiority through religion, language and food, and the conquest of culture, land and resources – all go under the microscope.
Unquestionably, what these two clowns depict and discuss about colonial history’s darkest corners is true. And unquestionably, this illumination will scandalize those who take their history like their tea – with a spoonful of sugar.
In Colonial Circus, Sharma and Parashar’s masterful clowning achieves something almost impossible: it makes us laugh … while forcing us to face the unforgivable and unfunny.
Two things can be true at the same time.
Questions?
Colonial Circus, presented by Two to Mango, continues at Aki Studio until September 28, 2025. Tickets are available at nativeearth.ca.
© Scott Sneddon, Sesaya Arts Magazine 2025
