FREE ART, MUSIC AND KNOCK ‘EM DOWNS AT CAIRNS FESTIVAL HQ

Two of Australia’s best-loved theatrical clowns, Clint Bolster and Annie Lee, are back for this year’s Cairns Festival with The Knock ‘Em Downs, a tent full of sideshow fun and games where nostalgia takes a curious twist and the carnies, who have seen it all, have become the clowns.

Bolster (High Tea with Boof) and Lee (the Kransky Sisters), clown collaborators for two decades, are no strangers to Cairns Festival audiences and are keen to welcome this year’s attendees into their sideshow tent on the Court House Gallery lawn for a comically interactive and oddball encounter.

“Knock ‘Em Downs is visual and because it is non-verbal it cuts across cultural barriers and abilities and ages – we have had six-month-old smiling babies to happy 92 year-olds in our audiences,” Bolster said of the show he and Lee created for the 2022 Brisbane Festival and have since performed in Queensland and Western Australia.

The laughs arise through the interaction between the clowns, ‘siblings’ Bernie and Roach, and the audience playing traditional sideshow games – to the delight of those in the queue awaiting their turn.

There is a carnival twist in this trip back in time to the sideshows of old but the clowns remain tight-lipped on spoilers. “It works. It really captivates the imagination of that world and you can be transported in an instant.

“People can come and play the games for as long or as short as they want,” Bolster said.

Entry to the Knock ‘Em Downs is free and the tent on the Court House Gallery lawn will be open every evening from August 25 to September 3 (except Saturday, August 26, and Thursday, August 31).

Festival HQ at the Court House Gallery will feature free art exhibitions, dance, live music and laughter throughout the Cairns Festival.

The gallery’s Court Room will house the Yalanji Arts’ How We Relate exhibition, which is open daily with free entry.

This showcase of rainforest-inspired textiles and free-form ceramics by the Mossman Gorge artists will highlight how their multi-medium approach informs their practice with a ‘cross-pollination’ effect.

Sonar So Far also invites audiences to experience the invisible choreography of air in a dance and sound performance in the gallery’s Clerks Room.

Using sine waves and radial signals, performers Patricia Wood (choreographer) and Alexandra Spence (sound design) map the topography of an ephemeral sound scape.

The free performances will be held at 10.30am on Saturday, August 26, and Sunday, August 27, at 10am and 12pm.

Also on show will be An Extension of Myself, an exhibition of work by emerging artist Thomas Chen.

Open daily, this collection of prints and mixed media pieces reflects a different aspect of his personality and creative vision, from vibrant colours to striking poses.

The Festival HQ stage, on the gallery front lawn, will be the beating heart of excitement and entertainment nightly, apart from the Grand Parade and fireworks night on Saturday, August 26 (see below for the full outline).

People are encouraged to bring a picnic blanket and enjoy a night of free, themed performances under the stars.

Cairns Festival runs from Friday, August 25, until Sunday, September 3. For the full program of music, theatre, film, dance and events and more information go to  www.cairnsfest.com.au.

ENDS