Review: EDINBURGH 2024: BAD CLOWNS: HOSTAGE, Gilded Balloon Patter House

“The only thing we want at the Edinburgh Fringe . . . Drama”

Bad Clowns: HOSTAGE, starring John Bond, Christian Dart and Sam Wells does not actually begin with bad clowns. Instead, we are greeted with a different show entirely, The Worrisome Troubles of Timothy Potts. John and Christian are preparing to put on this dramatic show, which tells the story of, as you might expect, a man named Timothy Potts. However, things are not as they seem.

It is soon revealed that Christian, who claims to be the “writer, director and star of the show,” is not the only one to have written the piece. Sam, Christian’s co-writer, has escaped from prison and is ready to see his masterpiece on the stage. John, Christian and the audience are taken hostage as Sam and his monkey sidekick lock the doors of the room, forcing the story of Timothy Potts to be performed for Sam. 

One aspect of Bad Clowns: HOSTAGE that I particularly loved is how the work of The Worrisome Troubles of Timothy Potts is portrayed throughout the show. While it begins as what appears to be a serious piece of work, it quickly devolves into chaos, especially when scenes are skipped over, leading to some wildly different scenes being put next to one another. There is a hilarious moment in which the character of  Timothy is meant to be having sex, which Christian reluctantly does at the insistence of Sam, staring down an audience member as he mimics sexual acts and moans. 

While there isn’t much audience participation, there are a few highlights throughout the show. There is a running joke throughout the show that one of the audience members in the front row is a reviewer, Julia Quinn, and Christian and Sam frequently ask for her approval throughout the show, desperate to win her over in order to see Timothy Potts succeed. Another highlight is the show’s deadpan sense of humour, illustrated perfectly by what is supposed to be a dramatic moment when Sam asks Christian, “You really thought prison could hold me?” To which Christian simply responds with, “Yes.” 

But, along with these moments of deadpan humour, it is also quite fun to see how Bond, Dart and Wells interact with one another. I particularly loved the moments in which the performers would corpse in front of one another, leading to some fun reactions. A great moment was when Dart was miming making tea and accidentally put the milk in first, which was delightedly called out by Wells as he watched the scene unfold. 

Ultimately, Bad Clowns: HOSTAGE is a fun hour of clowning comedy that pokes fun at dramatic Fringe shows while still being an amusing work itself. Bond, Dart and Wells do a fantastic job of working with one another to create laughs, each using their own style of performance to their advantage and combining for maximum chaos. 

Bad Clowns: HOSTAGE ran from 31 July to 26 August at Gilded Balloon Patter House - Nip at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe.

To post a comment, you must register and login.