Phillippe Gaulier has passed away at the age of 82. The French clown genius who alongside mentor Jacques Lecoq taught Bouffon clowning as well as more traditional technique, was a real trailblazer, teaching to countless actors and performers.
Eschewing the more rigid, serious Stanislavsky method which was so beloved by a whole generation of method actors, Gaulier instead focused on ‘getting in touch with your inner idiot’ and influenced everyone from Simon McBurney to Emma Thompson, plus the purer grotesque clowns who worked on the Bouffon stage.
Bouffon is the darker side of clowning: it’s white face, ambiguous and deeply uncomfortable, spitting out home truths about the human psyche. There will never be another like him. Indeed, there was a Facebook group called “Phillippe Gaulier Beat Me With A Stick”. He spat out advice like,’This Is a good clown for my grandmother ‘. He gave zero fucks, ever, but he got results.
Hit The North 