IN Los Angeles
October 2005

If you think that "existential clowns" sound nightmarishly scary (or just plain obnoxious), let all wear bowlers be your guide to enlightenment. Blending Beckett-esque themes with old-school Laurel and Hardy vaudeville, Trey Lyford and Geoff Sobelle offer a brilliantly modern take on a performer's role and what it takes to reach an audience. Much of the show's conceit rides on the "where do we come from and where are we going?" sensibility, but even in its most heightened artistic mode, it never fails to be just plain funny.

Director Aleksandra Wolska pulls together a nearly flawless act from the performers on their intricately designed routine. First appearing in a silent movie screen, the two gents, Wyatt R Levin (Lyford) and Earnest Matters (Sobelle), wearing bowler hats and suits, wander down a lonely road. Accidentally, they break down the fourth wall by stepping out of the screen, leading to an impeccably choreographed performance that links the film with live action. What starts off as a goofy interaction leads to sheer terror as the two realize that they are facing a real audience; it is a powerful moment when the film melts away, leaving the clowns trapped onstage without a script and facing the guffawing people in their seats.

Over the course of 75 minutes, the two pull from a collection of vaudeville tricks, slight of hand, and pratfalls. Using what the creators call "physical ventriloquism," the silent movie clowns communicate mostly through expressions and gestures rather than words. In their sweet confusion, they make us laugh as they earnestly do what they know best, and that is to entertain, despite obstacles that may face them. On a different (though maybe not higher) level they are commenting on the form of artsy, high falutin' theater that they are guilty of participating in. At one point, they sit onstage and observe the audience for several minutes. "What are we doing?" whispers Lyford. "Avant garde," explains Sobelle. "Ooohh. So many layers!" Lyford says with wonder.

There is a hodgepodge of activities that goes on, including the frequent appearance of eggs in the strangest places, climbing over the audience, and a stunning live rendition of Rene Magritte's man in a bowler hat image. Though it is a precisely choreographed show, there is some dependence on the audience's enthusiasm, ensuring that each performance will be somewhat unique.