Clowning is not just the idea of being funny—there’s something about it that goes directly into the child’s imagination, says Pierre Langevin, artistic director of Productions Strada. Based in Quebec City, the company brings their award-winning The Merry Marching Band show to Vancouver International Children’s Festival May 27 to 31 at Granville Island’s Performance Works (1218 Cartwright St.). 

“It’s in our genes to be absurd and funny on the streets,” Langevin shares how the show combines the European street band tradition with clowning. “[The cast] are all professional musicians but also have an appetite for staging this kind of show—we ended up with something that is musically very powerful.” 

Suitable for all ages, The Merry Marching Band features six performers on a musical adventure to the world’s different corners: Canada, Brazil, Ukraine and even Planet Mars. The ensemble includes the bossy band leader, played by Langevin on clarinet as well as André Larue (saxophone), Simon Tremblay (trumpet), Dominique Poirier (trombone), Julie Houle (tuba) and Olivier Forest (snare and body percussions). 

European traditions   

The Merry Marching Band is about discovering happiness, Langevin says of the show which opens with performers asleep in pajamas. Comedically, the percussion player then wakes up and realizes the band must get ready to perform. 

“It’s very funny,” Langevin shares. “This type of emotion with the music and the clowning reaches the child, and for us, that’s the purpose.” 

He sees the show as also reaching the “child inside the adult.” It honours the European tradition of street bands, which the artistic director sees as “very special.” These bands perform during parades or simply on sidewalks next to cafés. 

“If you like it, you stay; if you don’t like it, you just [leave],” adds Langevin. “[Street bands] have a connection with the public—a proximity and complexity that is unique.” 

Audiences can expect world music, including songs from Spain, Cuba and Eastern Europe. The performance won the Opus Award for Best Musical Production for Young Audiences. 

“We’re all professional musicians, so there is a standard: we want to play this music the best we can so it has the power it can have,” says Langevin who sees his fellow performers as the best part of the project. 

No fourth walls 

“In clowning, there are usually two main characters—which we call the white clown and the red clown,” Langevin shares. “The white clown is the straight one, the direct one; the red one is the one that tries to do well but usually doesn’t get a good result.”

Playing the band’s director, Langevin assumes the white clown’s role. He describes the character as “very pompous.” In contrast, the red clown—described by Langevin as “very naïve”—is the percussion player.  

Another key aspect of clowning is the lack of a fourth wall. Langevin points out that the performers “play” with the public, treating them as characters. 

“If there’s no public, the clown doesn’t exist,” he shares. “You cannot be a clown alone—you need someone to laugh.” 

The show also involves a game-like element: performers encourage audiences to mimic their actions. These actions include body percussions.

Aside from around seven words, the show is largely void of dialogue. A scene has Langevin in character, naming and inspecting the instruments. When touring internationally, Productions Strada adapts this language to their audience. 

“When we [end] the show, we usually end up in the hallway; we wait for people to come to us and take pictures,” Langevin recalls of previous performances. “Everybody is smiling.” 

A believer in the power of clowning, Langevin recalls a previous performance in Montreal where a child with autism spoke their first word. 

The May 27 – 29 performances will be followed by a Q&A period in French; the May 31 performance will include a live description and touch tour—allowing children with visual impairments to enjoy the show. 

The Merry Marching Band will also be part of the festival’s evening Variety Show on May 30, alongside BENCHED (Denmark), Nimihitowin (Alberta, Canada), Comedy Patrol (Quebec, Canada) and host Missy D (BC, Canada / Ivory Coast / Zimbabwe). 

For more information on the performances, see https://www.childrensfestival.ca/performer/the-merry-marching-band/.

For more information on Productions Strada, see https://www.strada.ca/en/.