Luckily we came!.-23/06/1998.

Carpa del Pueblo Español.- Barcelona.- España.
Jordi Jané /Diari Avui.

Premiered at Tàrrega in (1994) and the recipient of a Special Mention award at the Cornellà Clown Festival (1996) "for it's ability of integrating artistic avant-garde in the world of clown", Rapsodia in Clown recovers traditional numbers of musical eccentrics with a gratifying contemporary point of view. Just like a good wine this show has matured with the passing of time. Each time that I see it, it appears to be brand new, of wonderful vintage and lingers on the tongue with the velvety exuberance of a young wine. Having participated in the Festival of Circus in Barcelona, and in solo presentation at the Pueblo Español - Rapsodia in Clown prepares to set off for a tour that takes in England (Glastonbury), Poland (Chojnice,Walbrzych, Kracow, Warsaw and Gdansk), Germany where it represents Catalonia at the Festival of Regions, and then France, Ax-les-Thermes and in Les Nuits Foraines of St. Lô, before rounding up in America with a residence from October 98 to April 99 at the Theatre-Cabaret of Mirrors "Zinzanni" in Seattle. The company Marceline i Sylvestre has changed its name with the arrival of a grand addition, Zaza, founder of the Circus Bidon, musician and funambulist and, like his two accomplices Marceline and Sylvestre, an eccentric clown. Each member of this trio brings their own special touch of colour and the mixing of their individual hues constantly enriches the collective palette from which their show draws its strength and coherence. As a divinely hysterical diva, Marceline interprets "La vie en rose" before leaving the stage levitating and then she is revealed "ionescally brossanian"* explaining to us that "The pendulum of time stills the silence" whilst sheltering under a self-raining umbrella. On the other hand Zaza is capable of creating a delicate and fragile moment as a crystal hair, whilst interpreting with virtuosity the tango "Jealousy", during which Sylvestre, as the man with three legs, performs impeccably a classic number with which this disciple of Rogelio Rivel sparkles with creativity. Although the show is founded on surrealist humour - in theory only accessible to adults - Rapsodia in Clown nonetheless has the ability to set children choose their own story. Here is a comment from one six year old girl in the audience: "Luckily we came, because if we hadn't we would have missed so many funny things". It is difficult to move all audiences and yet Los Excéntricos did just that, thanks to their strong and accessible characters and their stage craft and direction that left nothing to chance and where every detail had been carefully thought about to produce a laugh. Without joking, Charlie Rivel often explained the secret of his own success. Last Saturday the three artists opened their show with a number in the style of Tom Waits and after the acclaim of the audience, had to top it with something special in an encore. This they did with "The moon of Alabama" from Kurt Weill in an astounding adaptation for voice, electric broom double bass, bandoneon and Japanese parasol. It was a demonstration once again of their ability to create beauty from the simplest of things. A joy of a show blessed by three exceptional talents.
Jordi Jané /Diari Avui.