I love traditional clowning. I’ve mentioned in the past how much I lament that American culture has offhandedly rejected the art-form, with people who have never seen a real pantomime comedy performance declaring their disdain for it. Given that Atlanta happens to be in the United States, we don’t get terribly much clowning outside of circuses passing through, so I get pretty excited when I have the chance to see a clown in the classical tradition of clowning and pantomime perform. I regretted not being able to see Ofir Nahari’s No(se)onenowhere when it last ran at 7 Stages and, so, when I found out that they’d be bringing it back as part of the Exposed Festival, I took some time off to make sure that I’d be able to make it. Like many of you, I was feeling awful for most of the day and, I must say, going to this was the best medicine I could possibly have taken.

Nahari’s act is as refined as could be. His physical presence is excellent and his control of his body is remarkable (you really have to see his pointe technique). He also has great voice control: he did his own sound design and demonstrated an excellent vocal range along with the ability to make sounds that were both silly and also capable of creating complex sound-scapes to accompany his work. His design and use of props is among the most clever that I’ve ever seen outside of a magic show. He puts on a 90 minute show that feels like 15 in which he explores the futility of using balloons to escape the crowds, an exciting adventure traveling to exotic locales through the use of a found briefcase, a dramatic opera about a scarecrow and a crow, and what is really on the other side of the door trying to get in.

My face is still hurting from all the laughter and smiling that I did. I can’t recommend this show enough, especially if you’re still reeling from the unmentionable mistake of Tuesday. It runs through Sunday, 11/13 and is worth every penny of admission. Here’s more info: www.7Stages.org. Go see it!