[Picture of the book]

The Congress of Clowns
and other Russian circus acts

a book by Joel Schechter

The Congress of Clowns is a new collection of essays on Russian circus satire. The book introduces American readers to some of the century's greatest political clowns, including Vladimir Durov, Vitaly Lazarenko, Yuri Nikulin, and Boris Yeltsin.

Russian clowns, Russian political satire, and Russian theatre are discussed in these essays by Joel Schechter. The author argues that clowns are the "intellectuals of the circus," and when freedom of expression is restricted in Russia, circus clowns are among the most outspoken intellectuals in the whole society, although their dissent takes comic and indirect forms.

In successive chapters, Schechter examines Yuri Nikulin's plan to set free all the animals in his circus; the threat laughter posed to the Russian revolution; Stalin's direction of the Moscow Circus; anarchist tendencies of clowns and satirists; and Schechter's own revival of Vladimir Durov's trained pig act in the United States.

These essays were written over the past decade, following Schechter's visits to circuses in Russia and his residency as research fellow in circus history at Moscow University. In two previous books, Durov's Pig and Satiric Impersonations: From Aristophanes to the Guerrilla Girls, the author also discusses the political clowning of Bertolt Brecht, Dario Fo, the Guerrilla Girls, and the San Francisco Mime Troupe. When not at the circus, he serves as Chair and Professor of Theatre Arts at San Francisco State University.

The Congress of Clowns was reviewed in January 1998 issue of the circus journal The White Tops by the journal's editor, James Foster. He wrote:

This pleasing little volume is based on the premise that, to get away with lacing their skits with political satire, Russian clowns must be politicians. The other side of the coin is that politicians, perhaps not only in Russia, are clowns.... In this collection of "essays," Schechter, who clearly admires these political dissidents of the highest order, describes their acts and examines their messages in a most entertaining fashion.
(For the complete review see Volume 71 Number 1 of The White Tops, page 45.)

The Congress of Clowns and Other Russian Circus Acts is available in paperback for $10 plus postage from AK Press, P.O. Box 40682, San Francisco, California 94140. For more information about the book write the author at jschech@sfsu.edu.

Here are a few links to other websites of somewhat related interest: