This piece was published before the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Beneath jacket hoods, big, curious eyes stare back at the audience watching them.
Slowly, grins appear upon their faces, signalling that physical comedy duo The Kagools are ready to play.
Despite the lack of words, the crowd laugh and ready themselves for the next game.
“The majority of sighted people can pick up body language and facial expressions despite different languages or age,” Claire Ford, one-half of the British duo says. “They – whoever ‘they’ are – say that most human communication is non-verbal anyway.”
Since forming in 2011, drama school friends Claire Ford and Nicky Wilkinson have won awards and delighted audiences worldwide with their wordless clowning shenanigans. Now, the duo returns to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, bringing with them their fourth full-length show, ‘Cirque Du Kagool’.
The duo has created a distinctive identity for the characters – two silent clowns with their heads wrapped within tight raincoats, otherwise known as kagools. “A kagool is the British-English term for a lightweight, weatherproof raincoat or anorak with a hood,” Claire explains. “In the UK, it has connotations of nerds or being uncool. We didn’t realise the word doesn’t really travel. Most people think we just made it up, but we didn’t!”
The silent nature of The Kagools has allowed the duo to travel far and wide, delighting audiences in such far-flung places as South Korea and Indonesia, and bringing comedy to aged homes and schools for the deaf.
“It can be hard to let non-English speaking people know that they will understand and enjoy it,” Claire admits. “We need to learn how to say in all languages, ‘there’s no language barriers to The Kagools' shows’.”
For their latest show, ‘Cirque Du Kagool’, the duo invites audiences to see these characters attempt to perform a circus show.
“If you got two idiots to put on a circus show with acrobatics and magic and illusion and underwater tank tricks and clever projection, then only gave them music and no mics, you’d be close to what the show is.”
“It’s an age-old style,” Claire says of the duo’s fascination with the circus. “It’s something for all the family to enjoy; it has danger and trickery and oozes style – all the things we don’t have.”
While the show features chaos, silliness, and plenty of audience interaction, The Kagools distinguish themselves from other clown performers with the use of projections and screens, which they interact with to recreate some dangerous circus feats.
“It’s very well-planned and edited. Some bits are rehearsed to the split second and some are completely free and could go on for however long we want. It’s a fun balance for us, of being technically ‘on it’ for the performance and also knowing we can play in the other bits. We do have a lot of fun.”
While the idea of audience interaction can make some comedy fans cringe, The Kagools’ warmth is sure to make crowds eager to play.
“We have a warm, friendly vibe, and anyone that gets up is made to be the hero. But, if you don't want to get up, we won’t force you. Though maybe give it a whirl; you might have the time of your life!”
