Review: The Farmer and the Clown, The Weston Studio, Bristol Old Vic – ‘Utterly heartwarming and relatable’

On the most romantic day of the year, I journeyed down to the Bristol Old Vic Weston Studio to watch Flibbertigibbet Theatre’s The Farmer and The Clown, based on the delightful children’s picture book by Marla Frazee.

While the book is aimed at children, this stage adaptation appeals to all ages, with fun, interesting visuals and a heartwarming story that everyone can relate to.

The staging is simple: a wooden platform, with a house-shaped background showing a view of the distant sea and sky. Balanced on a stool and table are a black-brimmed hat and a red pointy one, with a myriad of instruments sat to one side.

The opening of the show is incredibly charming, with the lead actors utilising blankets, paper creatures and models to cleverly establish the setting of a homestead near the ocean where the farmer lives.

This approach continues throughout the show with plenty of innovative and smart ways of portraying larger-than-life elements, such as The Clown falling off a train.

A key thing to mention is that this is an entirely wordless show. The hour-long runtime is instead filled with a mix of mime, physical theatre, puppetry and music. However, it never feels like it grinds to a halt, moving seamlessly from set piece to set piece and keeping the audience entertained.

But you definitely need great performances to sell a silent production such as this. And thankfully, in Martin Bonger’s The Farmer and Clementina Allende Iriarte’s The Clown, we get an excellent pairing, managing to be at once slick, and entirely natural.

First up, though, a moment of appreciation for The Musician, played by James Gow. Not only does he have the tricky job of playing a range of instruments live to sync up with the other performances, but he is also involved in the action itself.

Bonger is charming, starting as a grumpy character going about his day-to-day life, and slowly being transformed by his interactions with The Clown into more of a kind individual whose encounter has forever changed him. He portrays this transformation physically, starting off as a hunched, downtrodden man who is slowly inspired to loosen up and become happier in his body and mind.

Iriarte’s Clown is wonderful, and infused with enough child-like glee in her mannerisms that you forget she is played by a fully grown adult.

What Flibbertigibbet have created is a beautiful, simple, and charming piece of theatre, suitable for all.

https://vimeo.com/adamdjlaity/farmerandclowntrailer

Follow Flibbertigibbet Theatre @flibberttheatre.

Read more: The Weston Studio hosts Flibbertigibbet Theatre’s family show without words

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