The Sad Clown trope has been done to death, so it’s very refreshing to get a new type of clown; the type that loves their craft but has to perform for the obnoxious children of a wealthy family while coming down from a wild night and sporting a queer sex injury. Yep. The Balloon Dog Bites is a one-and-a-bit man comedy at the Old Fitz Theatre that manages all kinds of wrong in all the right ways.
Paulie Accio loves being a clown, leaning in to his goofy, fun-loving nature it’s his calling in life. Having studied the craft in France, he now struggles to make a living and often has to resort to accepting children’s birthday parties. It’s a humiliating necessity for a serious artist. That’s where we find him today, reflecting on his training in France and his attempts at being a serious clown while dealing with bratty children and demanding corporate-world parents at a birthday party in Birchgrove. The children and adults alike constantly belittle his occupation, with escalating humiliations culminating in a grim tragedy and moment of cathartic revenge.
I say one-and-a-bit man because while written and performed as a solo act by Michael Louis Kennedy, he employs the use of five audience members to read out the parts of several children at the party, which was a fun and fresh way to expand the story and involve the audience.
While the show is short and sharp, coming in at fifty minutes, the pacing is spot on. The story takes it’s time and is never rushed, with plenty of jokes to keep you laughing. Kennedy has a great sense of timing, not only when he tells the jokes but also in telling the story as Paulie, often mimicking other characters as he brings the events to life. It often felt like a stand-up comedy act, with careful pauses to allow for laughter or dramatic effect.
But the show also has a serious side, exploring how traditional family structures and views on parenthood often disparages the lives of queer or childless people. Anyone outside of a traditional role in a heteronormalized nuclear family is questioned, mocked, and belittled, with children prioritised over Paulie’s dignity. These ideas were never forced or obvious, yet played a vital role as the thematic foundation.
I had a lot of fun, as did the rest of the audience, who couldn’t stop laughing until the end and then jumped to give Kennedy a standing ovation. Be careful though, this clown act is very much for adults only.
The Balloon Dog Bites is playing at the Old Fitz Theatre in Woolloomooloo, Sydney until the 5th of September.
To book tickets to The Balloon Dog Bites, please visit https://www.oldfitztheatre.com.au/the-balloon-dog-bites.
Photographer: Phil Erbacher
