Amy chats to Natasha Sutton-Williams creator of Clown Sex which is on at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe.
Here’s your chance to give an elevator pitch, can you give us a brief synopsis?
Gary Strange has moved into the London sewers due to the cost-of-living crisis. One benefit of living in London’s innards is that Gary can listen to his high-rise neighbours through drainpipes and plugholes, overhearing stories of bad sex, sad sex and even clown sex. He recounts a day in the life of a failed teacher and party animal, a journalist’s enlightening sexual encounter with a feline friend, and Gary’s personal experience of getting jiggy with a kink-positive clown. From garlic-flavoured nipples to cat cunnilingus, it’s funny, grotesque and surprisingly relatable.
What attracted you to this production/role?
I wrote the show so I guess I must be attracted to myself! But in purely objective terms, I have a real soft spot for Gary, even though some people might find him to be a bit of a wrong’un. It’s true that he has some odd tastes – clown sex being one of them – and he loves to bask in the joy of filth, but what is so great about Gary is that he doesn’t let society’s prejudices get in the way of expressing himself, or his pleasure seeking. He is cheery, sweet and really quite thoughtful, especially when it comes to his romantic partners. He has taken wokeness very seriously.
Have you performed at the Fringe before? What are the best and worst parts of performing at the fringe? Or if it’s your first time, what are you most excited about?
This is the first time that I will be performing in Edinburgh and am doing the marathon of the month at the Pleasance Courtyard. I’ve performed many times in London at festivals like VAULT and previously I have been reluctant to go up to Edinburgh because it can feel like there is so much noise and that you are screaming into a void. But because Clown Sex sold out at VAULT this year and received a number of award nominations and great reviews, it felt like this year would be the best time to give Edinburgh a go. I’m really excited to perform for an audience who likely doesn’t know my work and is taking a punt on the title of the show or the poster.
What are the main themes within the production, and what can audiences expect?
Clown Sex is designed to entertain, provoke and titillate in equal measure. It’s freaky, funny and at times a little disturbing. But the message of the show is to invite people to lean into their secret desires and seek out new experiences, even if society deems them to be unsavoury. As long as it’s consensual, this play is saying ‘Be free!’ Clown Sex is trying to promote not just a liberation of sexual freedom, but a liberation of thought, particularly when it comes to society’s judgements on individuals.
On the surface, Clown Sex sounds like a kooky, crazy show, but a huge amount of time and effort has gone into the complexity of the writing. All good tragedy has baked in laughs. All good comedy has tragic moments. That’s what I’m trying to create with Clown Sex. You’ll have to come and experience the show to see if it delivers.
Finally, with so many shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, why should people book a ticket to this one?
You genuinely aren’t going to see a show like this one. You just have to read the title or look at the poster to understand that this show is just a little bit different from the rest. If you don’t believe me, come see the show. If you do, believe me, come see the show!
Clown Sex will be performed at 1.45pm in Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker Two) from 2nd – 27th August (Not 16th, 21st or 28th)
Booking link: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/clown-sex
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