This piece, performed by students of Howard Payne University, tells the tragedy-laced story of Joseph Grimaldi, father of the modern day clown. The protagonist and his brother John perform in a pantomime dominated by their father (known only as Signor), who is the overbearing but successful clown in the theatre. Joseph establishes himself as a rising star and is favoured by the theatre owner to take over the role of clown from his father. Signor bullies and beats his sons forcing John to run away, but despite his reluctance he is ultimately powerless to prevent the inevitable promotion of Grimaldi Jr. Joey, as he is known to his friends encounters enormous success and popularity but resents being expected to play the clown offstage as well, and we see a great contrast between his jovial stage character and the real man. The production continues to chart the life of the performer specifically detailing his reinvention of the Clown and the tragic personal events that surrounded it.
Whilst the story tells of an intriguing dichotomy of a pained individual, the writing is guilty of being overly melodramatic, reflected in some of the performances. At times it feels as much like watching a soap as a piece of theatre. Perhaps it was this combined with some arts and craft costumes that gave the production a tinge of the school play about it. The staging was peculiar on occasion with some of the chorus dances heavily reminiscent of a Zumba class, and a confusing panto scene culminating with the devil seemingly banished by the tooth fairy. The show had redeeming features, the highlight of which was almost certainly Rivers Shotwell who played the central character with great physical dexterity and flair. He was also adept at showing the two conflicting sides of the troubled Grimaldi. Ultimately however the show promised more on paper than it delivered, and at 9.15am many might not consider it worth the early start.