“Fourniret, you’re nothing but a clown,” said the judge handing down a sentence in a murder case last month. There was no question about guilt but nonetheless, the judge’s pronouncement engendered protest–from a real clown.

Francis Nachbar runs a cabaret-circus in Paris where he is the star performer in the role of a sad clown.  There’s no play-acting now; he has something to be truly sad about.  “I’m really hurt,” he wrote in a letter to the judge, “really wounded by your statement.  It is an insult to genuine clowns.  Totally inadmissable.”

There is more to clowns than their make-up.  How can we ever enjoy the circus again?

This entry was posted on Monday, June 9th, 2008 at 3:04 pm and is filed under Thoughts. Both comments and pings are currently closed.