Festival of Fools

Last updated
Festival of Fools
Bash Street Theatre, Belfast, May 2013 (21).JPG
Bash Street Theatre Company performing at Festival of Fools, Belfast, May 2013
GenreStreet festival
Location(s) Belfast, Northern Ireland
Coordinates 54°36′07″N5°55′34″W / 54.6020°N 5.9262°W / 54.6020; -5.9262 Coordinates: 54°36′07″N5°55′34″W / 54.6020°N 5.9262°W / 54.6020; -5.9262
Founded2004
Website www.foolsfestival.com

The Festival of Fools is an annual Street Festival held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, usually during the May Bank Holiday weekend. It first started in 2004 [1] and includes performances from around the world. Performers are paid a fixed amount and money collected from audiences at the end of each show is used to fund the next years show.

Previous to that, the annual International Festival of Fools, created by the Friends Roadshow went on from 1975 to 1984 in Amsterdam. [2] It was a "comedy convention of the Nouveau Clowns". [3]

The London Critics Group held an annual show called the Festival of Fools. Running over Christmas they satirised events of the previous year whilst including folklore and customs of each month. They were written by Ewan MacColl, staged in the back room of a North London pub, The New Merlin's Cave, and ran for five years in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Related Research Articles

Clown Comic performer often for childrens entertainment

A clown is a person who wears a unique makeup-face and flamboyant costume, performing comedy in a state of open-mindedness all while using physical comedy.

Jester Historical entertainer

A jester, court jester, or fool, was historically an entertainer during the medieval and Renaissance eras who was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town markets. Jesters are also entertainers who perform at modern-day historically themed events.

Juggalo A fan of the group Insane Clown Posse or any other Psychopathic Records hip hop group

A juggalo is a fan of the group Insane Clown Posse or any other Psychopathic Records hip hop group. Juggalos have developed their own idioms, slang, and characteristics. The Gathering of the Juggalos, alternatively known as just "The Gathering", is a notable annual festival held by juggalos and the artists that they support, which have included rap stars such as Busta Rhymes, Ice Cube, and MC Hammer; over its first eleven events (2000–2010), the festival drew a total attendance of about 107,500 fans, averaging nearly 9,800 per year, with a peak of 20,000 in 2010.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe Arts festival

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world's largest arts festival, which in 2018 spanned 25 days and featured more than 55,000 performances of 3,548 different shows in 317 venues. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the month of August. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has become a world-leading celebration of arts and culture, surpassed only by the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup in terms of global ticketed events. As an event it "has done more to place Edinburgh in the forefront of world cities than anything else".

Melbourne International Comedy Festival Annual comedy festival in Melbourne, Australia

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international comedy festival in the world. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typically starting in March and running through to April. The Melbourne Town Hall has served as the festival hub since the early 1990s, but performances are held in many venues throughout the city.

Gathering of the Juggalos Annual festival in the USA

The Gathering of the Juggalos is an annual festival put on by Psychopathic Records, featuring performances by the entire label roster as well as numerous well-known musical groups and underground artists. It was founded by Jumpsteady, Insane Clown Posse, and their label in 2000. Described by Joseph Bruce as a "Juggalo Woodstock", the Gathering of the Juggalos spans five days and includes concerts, wrestling, games, contests, autograph sessions, karaoke, and seminars with artists. Over its first eleven events (2000–2010), the festival drew a total attendance upward of 100,000 fans.

Lucy Porter English actress and comedian

Lucy Donna Porter is an English actress, writer and comedian. She has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, the Brighton Festival and many clubs around Britain. She is also a regular voice on BBC Radio 4 in various panel shows, including Quote... Unquote and The Personality Test.

Class Clowns is Melbourne International Comedy Festival's development program for young people around the country. From comedy workshops in schools to a national comedy competition, Class Clowns engages and inspires young funny peeps to hone their potential.

Canadian Comedy Awards

The Canadian Comedy Awards (CCA) is an annual ceremony that awards the Beaver for achievements in Canadian comedy in live performance, radio, film, television, and Internet media. The awards were founded and produced by Tim Progosh in 2000.

Hans Teeuwen Dutch comedian and actor

Hans Eduard Marie Teeuwen is a Dutch comedian, musician, actor and occasional filmmaker. His work has been described as absurdist, apolitical and confrontational.

The culture of Belfast, much like the city, is a microcosm of the culture of Northern Ireland. Hilary McGrady, chief executive of Imagine Belfast, claimed that "Belfast has begun a social, economic and cultural transformation that has the potential to reverberate across Europe." Belfast is split between two rarely-overlapping vibrant cultural communities, a high-culture of opera, professional theatre, filmmaking and the visual arts and a more popular or commercial culture. Throughout the short years of troubles, Belfast tried to express itself through art and music.

Jango Edwards American clown and entertainer

Jango Edwards is an American clown and entertainer who has spent most of his career in Europe, primarily in France, Spain, Netherlands, and England.

Nola Rae

Nola Rae MBE is a mime artist.

Alan Clay is a film director, writer and clown teacher. In his early career he performed and taught extensively as a clown. He wrote three novels and a clown textbook. He went on to write and direct a short film and two feature films, which are adapted from his novels.

Shakespeare Festival Neuss is an annual theatre festival in Neuss, Germany. It has taken place in a replica of the Globe Theater on the grounds of the Neuss racecourse since 1991.

Our Version of Events Tour was a debut global concert tour by Scottish singer Emeli Sandé, in support of her 2012 debut album, Our Version of Events. The tour ran for over two years from 2011 till 2013, covering five continents in the process.

Murray Horwitz

Murray Horwitz is an American playwright, lyricist, NPR broadcaster, and arts administrator.

Tara Brown is an English acoustic gospel, contemporary Christian singer-songwriter, whose recent popularity boost followed her performance in the 2012 edition of the Time2shine Gospel Talent Search in the UK.

Brendan Hunt is an American actor and writer known for roles in the films We're the Millers (2013) and Horrible Bosses 2 (2014) as well as voicing two characters in the video game Fallout 4 (2015). He is a co-creator of the Apple TV+ sitcom Ted Lasso and also a writer and cast member on the show.

Johnny Melville

Johnny Melville is a clown, actor and mime who is part of the group of artists who in the 1970s revolutionized the world of the clown in Europe, alongside names like Jango Edwards and Nola Rae in the historic Friends Roadshow in Amsterdam. In recent years he has combined his work as a clown, mime and trainer with that of actor in alternative filmmaking.

References

  1. "Belfast's Festival of Fools celebrating 10 years of funny business". Belfast Telegraph (4 April 2013). Retrieved 2013-05-03.
  2. Blanchette, Ron (Autumn 1977). "Amsterdam's Festival of Fools". Performing Arts Journal. Performing Arts Journal, Vol. 2, No. 2. 2 (2): 86–90. doi:10.2307/3245341. JSTOR   3245341.
  3. "Clown & Fool JANGO EDWARDS BIOGRAPHY". Jango Edwards & Peter Ercolano website. Retrieved 2007-01-14.