The London Clown Festival is set to delight audiences this summer with an exciting lineup of physical performances from top UK and international clowns from 16 June to 14 July.
As an annual fixture of the London comedy scene, embracing physical theatre, improvisation, and emotional honesty as well as a rich tradition of physical storytelling, to foster comedy and connection.
This year’s festival takes place at Jacksons Lane, a dynamic arts centre in Highgate, which has long been a leading hub for innovative theatre, circus, and dance which is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a year-long programme of productions, special celebrations, and heritage projects. Housed in a Grade II-listed former Methodist church, the venue underwent a major £5m refurbishment, supported in part by a generous gift from The George Michael Estate, which led to the creation of The Freedom Studio in his honour.
It also takes place at Soho Theatre, London’s most vibrant producer of new theatre, comedy, and cabaret. Our central London venue is established as one of the UK’s busiest, with a buzzing bar, lively audiences, and a diverse year-round festival programme with a queer, punk, and counter-culture flavour. In 2025 Soho Theatre Walthamstow is set to open alongside international work in New York, Melbourne and Mumbai and working at the Edinburgh Fringe. As the UK’s leading presenter of Indian comedians, filmed comedy specials can be seen on international airlines and Soho Theatre Player.
With performances spread across both iconic venues, here’s a lowdown of what you can expect.
This year, The Weight of Shadow by Sasha Krohn is a physical theatre piece that blends mime, dance, and aerial work to capture the emotional chaos of a psychiatric patient over a single day.
Equally unmissable is Red Bastard, the master of Bouffon, known for his unpredictable mix of raw conversation, comic traps, and high-stakes audience interaction.
His show promises that “something interesting must happen every ten seconds… and it will”, as he invites audiences into the world of this dangerous, seductive comedy-monster. He descends on London for the first time in 8 years to unleash his critically acclaimed juggernaut of a character.
Berlin’s dysfunctional art rock siblings return with Otto & Astrid: The Stages Tour, a blistering set of Europop anthems that crash together the chaotic energy of The B-52s, The Pixies, Kraftwerk, and early Ramones. Expect a lipstick-smeared sonic collision as they thunder through hits from (almost) all of their albums.
And, Lachlan Werner: Wondertwunk offers a surreal circus of stunts, secrets, and minimal lip movement from the “hilarious, extraordinary ventriloquist” (The Guardian), promising a brilliantly unpredictable hour of comedy. Also joining the line-up is Jessica Barton: Dirty Work, fresh from winning Best Newcomer at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Hailed as “a rising star and quadruple threat” (Australian Arts Review), Barton combines a spoonful of song, dance, clowning, and deep-cleaning to present a skanky and empowering debut.
Other highlights include The London Clown Festival Opening Cabaret, to dip in and out of shows and A Night of Drama where featuring bottomless banana peels*! Up to 70 peels* per show. Meanwhile, Naughty Cabaret brings the 2025 festival to a high-energy close with a queer feminist cabaret packed with a lineup from various genres, including clown, circus, music, burlesque, character comedy, and more.
London Clown Festival was founded in 2016 to share the joy and exhilaration of clowning and physical performance with as wide an audience as possible and help expand the image of clown in the public consciousness.
London Clown Festival full line up
Monday 16 June 18:45 – London Clown Festival 2025 – Opening Cabaret – Soho Theatre (120 mins, no interval)
Tuesday 17 June 18:45 – The Day I Got The Horn – Soho Theatre (60 mins)
Tuesday 17 June 20:30 – 50 Ways To Kill a Slug – Soho Theatre (60 mins)
Wednesday 18 June 18:45 – Jessica Barton: Dirty Work – Soho Theatre (60 mins)
Wednesday 18 June 20:30 – Lachlan Werner: Wondertwunk – Soho Theatre (60 mins)
Thursday 19 June 18:45 – Lil Wenker: Bangtail – Soho Theatre (60 mins)
Thursday 19 June 20:30 – Dan Lees: Vinyl Countdown Vol II – Soho Theatre (60 mins)
Thursday 19 June 22:15 – A Night Of Drama – Soho Theatre (60 mins)
Friday 20 June 18:45 – Fred Strangebone Performs Comedy – Soho Theatre (60 mins)
Friday 20 June 20:30 – Paulina Lenoir & Patricia Langa: CONCHOLA – Soho Theatre (60 mins)
Friday 20th June 22:15 – The Clong Show – Soho Theatre (60 mins)
Saturday 21 June 18:45 – Freddie Hayes: The Magic Lady – Soho Theatre (60 mins)
Saturday 21 June 20:30 – Jonah Non Grata – Soho Theatre (60 mins)
Saturday 21 June 22:15 – Slug in A Club – Soho Theatre (60 mins)
Tuesday 24 June 19:30 – The Establishment – Jacksons Lane (60 mins)
Wednesday 25 June 19:30 – Red Bastard – Jacksons Lane (60 mins)
Tuesday 1 July 19:30 – Tatterdemalion – Jacksons Lane (60 mins)
Wednesday 2 July 19:30 – Otto & Astrid: The Stage Tour – Jacksons Lane (60 mins)
Thursday 3 July 19:00 – The Weight of Shadow – Jacksons Lane (60 mins)
Thursday 3 July 20:45 – Tatterdemalion – Jacksons Lane (60 mins)
Friday 4 July 19:30 – Naughty Cabaret – Jacksons Lane (60 mins)
LISTINGS
Dates: 16th June – 4th July 2025
Venues: Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, London W1D 3NE
Venues: Jacksons Lane, 269A Archway Road, N6 5AA
Time: Various Times
Price: £13-£27 (plus booking fees)
Tickets: www.londonclownfest.co.uk
