8th Annual Montreal Clown Festival to Return in April

The Montreal Clown Festival will return from April 4-12, 2025, highlighting high-calibre clown, comedy, physical theatre, and eccentric performances that elevate clowning to the level of fine artistic excellence.

In celebration of its 8th edition, this year's festival features eight events over eight days. Expanding its reach locally, the festival kicks off its opening weekend with performances at the Gesù Theatre in the heart of downtown Montreal, before moving to new venues in the Plateau, Mile End, and Villeray–Parc-Extension–Saint-Michel neighborhoods, including the newly opened La Toscadura and P'tit Ours.

The festival opens with its annual all-ages Gala Cabaret on April 4, 2025, directed by Krin Haglund and hosted by René Bazinet, internationally renowned clown seen at Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Roncalli, and Berlin's Wintergarten, among others. The cabaret will feature eight exceptional acts selected by a committee comprised of Director Krin Haglund, Montreal Clown Festival Artistic Director Vanessa Rigaux, and The 7 Fingers' Patrick Léonard. The opening weekend continues at Gesù on April 5th with Empire Pagaille's beloved Soirée Impro Clown, led by Évelyne Laniel and featuring musician Hippolyte and performers Jérôme Cattarin, Yvan Demanche, Vanessa Kneale, Annick Prémont, and special surprise guests.

In partnership with Maison de la Culture Claude-Léveillée, the Montreal Clown Festival proudly presents two free shows for families: Pour la Science ! on April 9th by Edmonton's Small Matters Productions, a non-verbal romp that navigates the audience through a captivating array of progressively intricate challenges; and the premiere of Amârrable on April 12th, a new piece from Îles-de-la-Madeleine-based collective Foutiyayaï, featuring François-Guillaume Leblanc, Jean-Simon Larochelle, and Colin Heath.

Back by popular demand, the irreverent and cunning Old God by Las Vegas' Alec Jones-Trujillo returns to the festival for the second year in a row on April 10th, gracing the stage at Casa del Popolo-owned party hub La Sotterenea.

Closing out the festival, Le Grand Imbécile returns on April 11th to electrify the festival with high-energy antics and eccentric performances, hosted by the iconic Uma Gahd (Canada's Drag Race). Once a festival favourite, this beloved talent show brings the Montreal arts community together by inviting artists from a wide range of disciplines - from burlesque, to drag, to music, to physical feats - to apply to be drawn by lottery to show off their best talents in three minutes or less, and to charm the audience and three celebrity judges into crowning them the “Greatest Fool of the Night.”

Rounding out this year's programming are two public discussions that dive deep into the art of clowning, featuring panelists from the clown and circus community: “Transmitting knowledge, pathways, and pedagogies in the art of clowning”, and “Is Clowning Dangerous?” 

The Festival des clowns de Montréal invites everyone to contribute generously to its fundraising campaign by visiting its website. A tax receipt will be issued thanks to the Conseil des arts de Montréal's fiscal sponsorship program.

April 4, 2025

Gala Cabaret
7:30pm - Gesù, 1200 Rue de Bleury
Directed by Krin Haglund
With MC René Bazinet - Steve Day - Dik & Mitzi (Andrea Conway & Wayne Doba) - Céline Jolin - Miriam Heap-Lalonde - Philibert Hébert-Filion - Shallyjulie Messier - Myriam Sutton - Isaac Kessler - and more!

April 5, 2025

Discussion I: Transmitting knowledge, pathways, and pedagogies in the art of clowning
3pm  - Gesù, 1200 Rue de Bleury
Moderated by Zed Cézard
With: Anna-Karyna Barlati (École Nationale du Cirque); Francine Côté (École de Clown et Comédie), Yves Dagenais, Jackie Gosselin (DynamO Théâtre), Jean Saucier (École de Clown et Comédie)

Soirée Impro Clown (Empire Pagaille, Montréal)
7:30pm - Gesù, 1200 Rue de Bleury
With: Évelyne Laniel, Hippolyte (music), Jérôme Cattarin, Yvan Demanche, Vanessa Kneale, Annick Prémont, and surprise guests

April 9, 2025

For Science! (Small Matters Productions, Edmonton)
7:30pm - Maison de la Culture Claude-Léveillée, 911 rue Jean-Talon Est
Created & Performed by Christine Lesiak and Ian Walker

April 10, 2025

Old God (Alec Jones-Trujillo, Las Vegas)
7:30pm - La Sotterenea, 4848 Boulevard Saint-Laurent

April 11, 2025

Le Grand Imbécile
8:00pm - La Toscadura, 4388 St Laurent Blvd
MC Uma Gahd
DJ Lady McCoy

April 12, 2025

Amârrable (Collectif Foutiyayaï, Îles-de-la-Madeleine)
3:00pm - Maison de la Culture Claude-Léveillée, 911 rue Jean-Talon Est
With: François-Guillaume Leblanc, Jean-Simon Larochelle, Colin Heath

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