Lawrence Jansen and Gregory Konow of Godlight Theatre Company’s “The Pilo Family Circus”

Godlight Theatre Company's "The Pilo Family Circus"

We’ve all got those friends who are terrified of clowns.

Godlight Theatre Company‘s world premiere of The Pilo Family Circus might be enough to turn you into that friend.

Adapted for the stage from the breakout debut novel of Australian writer Will Elliott, the show follows mild-mannered Jamie after he’s recruited by demented clowns for the circus. The clowns who won’t take “no” for an answer. And neither will “JJ,” Jamie’s face-painted alter-ego, who wants full ownership of their shared body.

In this episode, GSAS! talks with Lawrence Jansen (the dangerous & foul-mouthed “Gonko the Clown,” the green-haired guy in the last three photos below, with the half-yellow, half-red suit) and Gregory Konow (the impossibly tall & omnipresently creepy “Kurt Pilo” — that’s him in the background of every photo below) about not having the time for props, why the story is the most important thing, and delving into the darkness of the Pilo Family Circus.

“Don’t show. Just do it.” Continue reading