OLD WHITE CLOWNS

There are stories that are too good not to tell, even if they are bloody. One such story is the life of actor Jean Gaspard Deburau, the inventor of modern pantomime. His biography is a single summary of a problem that still concerns us today, 177 years after Deburau's death: that of old white men. Deburau was one of them and invented him for the stage, the old white bum. His name: Pierrot.

Immortalized in the French film classic "Les enfants du paradis/The Children of Olympus", Pierrot can be found today as a kitschy porcelain figurine in many antique stores. A dreamer from a bygone era. His story is less harmless. It is about murder. The foreigner Deburau, who rose from a failed street acrobat to become the "best actor in Paris", was acclaimed by the lower classes and admired by the elite, while France was fighting a colonial war in Algeria and Deburau killed one of his fans.

Emma Murray, Téné Ouelgo and Max Merker play this Pierrot. With and without words, they tell of visible and invisible power relations: on stage, in our European history and in us. And one thing is certain: the white clown will never again be able to rely on applause as surely as in Deburau's time.


"With its high tempo and a comedy that always strikes a refreshingly aggressive tone, the clownesque is regaining relevance as an instrument of political discourse. Three professionals acted here, sending the audience into a roaring frenzy." (Kölnische Rundschau)

With: Max Merker, Emma Murray, Téné Ouelgo
Concept, director: Max Merker
Concept, dramaturgy: Martin Bieri
Outside Eye: Viviane Pavillon
Movement coaching: Emma Murray
Costume: Nic Tillein
Scenography: Damian Hitz
Lighting: Patrick Hunka, Michael Murr
Diversity consulting: Henri-Michel Yéré, Anisha Imhasly
Musical advice: Michel Schröder
Assistant director, surtitles: Jarina Müller
Production management: Ramun Bernetta

A production by Max Merker and Bernetta Theaterproduktionen. In co-production with Fabriktheater Rote Fabrik Zurich, Kleintheater Lucerne. In partnership with ThiK - Theater im Kornhaus Baden. Supported by Stadt Zürich Kultur, Fachstelle Kultur Kanton Zürich, Migros Kulturprozent, Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Stanley Thomas Johnson Stiftung, Elisabeth Weber Stiftung, Walter Haefner Stiftung.