Working Class Clown is a new site-specific one-person-play by Queer Fa’afafine performance artist and playwright Tommy Misa, on the transcultural figure of the ‘town fool’ and their unique ability to speak truth to power. The show takes inspiration from the Samoan political satire tradition of Fale Aitu, where clowns are possessed by spirits known as Aitu, thereby conferring the spiritual authority to take the piss out of the powers that be. As one of the flagship performance works in this year's Biennale, Working Class Clown is situated in a unique space to engage with community with Misa’s trademark irreverence and sense of play. We caught up with Tommy Misa to find out more...
"Fuck sake!" you mutter, alone, as you lose one of the few car spots near the much-anticipated and recently refurbished White Bay Power Station. You’re running late for your evening at the theatre. It’s late autumn, and your favourite asshole on the radio is telling you it’s the hottest autumn day on record. You enter the mortar maze and find a performance artist sitting smugly on a stage. They look at you. You look at them. They smile unrestrained, then fart. Great. The show has already begun.
Q: What was the inspiration for this work?
A: Many things... Really big belly laughter that comes from people who have lived big lives, Grief and loss of people in my life the last 18 months and from that place some joy has been birthed. I am inspired by the art of Fale Aitu, A samoan form of clowning that is a social and political satire of sorts in which a performer is possessed by spirits who dance around the edges of reality, farce and the absurdity of life. I love my fellow clowns, I’m inspired by my friends and fellow clowns Emma Maye Gibson (Betty Grumble), Megana Holliday and one of my oldest friends Francisco, who makes me cackle. And finally my late father Mefiposeta Misa, he was the first person to make me laugh and could find the play in absolutely anything.
Q: How do you approach the process of performance making?
A: Usually I start with research on the themes, deep dives into really particular things like why banana trees and the colour yellow bring joy to people and only bear fruit once. Then I start chopping things together and try to join the dots, then I usually spiral and google “how to write a play” then at the bottom of the spiral I begin to spiral back up, collecting the original story and bringing new parts along with me. It’s always a wild ride but I’m learning more and more to trust the process.
Q: How does your work respond to the White Bay Power Station?
A: Working Class Clown responds to ideas of loss and erasure. Like many parts of Sydney city there are remnants of working class communities that once thrived and made the city and the art and the culture that is consumed. It perhaps less responds and more honours the place that it is, the stories I imagine held in the cracks in the wall, I think you can always find stories that lie within if you’re looking. I love making site specific work. It feels like such an honour to be making people laugh in that space.
Q: What are some of the references and research areas that have influenced this work?
A: Some of the main reference and research areas have been Pacific Island humour, theatre of the absurd, many artists like Taylor Mac, Tofiga Fepulea’i, Really silly clowns and clown tricks.. There is something so honest about a simple clown trick that hits you in the gut and makes you go.. Yep humans are fucked or yep humans are absolutely incredible. Going back into personal and family research (looking at school reports) and finding the voice I had as a child and creating a show from there.
Working Class Clown
Created and Performed by Tommy Misa
Presented by Performance Space and The Biennale of Sydney
For three Sydney Biennale performances only 1 - 3 May 2024 @ White Bay Power Station.
performancespace.com.au/programs/working-class-clown/
Tommy Misa was photographed by Joseph Mayers (c)