SANDRINE SULIT: [ FAMILY ] by Mr. John

    The play that I have watched, [ Family ] is a play performed by Mr. John on 31^st May 2026 at GMBB Reading Corner, Kuala Lumpur at 2pm, in conjunction with KL Festival. The play tells about Mr. John, a contemporary clown – an artist whom has taken him around the world to train in various disciplines: puppetry, theatre, circus, physical comedy and the art of clowning, with a simple dream: To share the light within him with everyone he encounters. [ Family ] is an interactive comedy and a meaningful performance that glimpses into that dream – an experience that invites audiences to laugh, reflect, and feel, to enjoy the moment together as a family.

 

    The performance starts with Mr John introducing himself and his background, followed by his first act, where he asks the audience to clap along to a beat as he walks according to it. Soon after, he arrives at his ‘box’ and asks for a child volunteer. A young girl was chosen as he occasionally teased her upon hearing her name. She struggled to follow his instructions as she was only 5 (if I’m not mistaken) yet she managed to cooperate, as Mr John brings out balloons of different colors. He teased her by saying to her the green balloon was red, which she denied, however when he asked the audiences we went along with his statement. We were ‘fooling’ the little girl. He asked if she was interested in a balloon-made object, in which she nodded and soon he made her an umbrella out of the balloons. He gifted it to her as he teased her having a new hairstyle in town with the umbrella, before dismissing her. After that, Mr John started his second segment, having the audience call out to his puppet Chicken (if I recall correctly) and it appeared. Mr John and his puppet has bickering, mostly ‘condescending’ himself through the Chicken when he introduces himself as “Handsome Man” but the Chicken shows no response. The Chicken also often reminds the audience to not ‘cook’ him, and after some chatters, Chicken was dismissed into his box. Soon after, Mr John brought out another of his puppet friend – Bear as he shows up sleeping under a Santa hat. Similar to Chicken, Bear was sly when it came to complimenting Mr John. Bear leads the children audience to sing along with him, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, before he bids farewell and into the box he went again. Last segment of the show, Mr John then asked for another child helper as a boy was chosen this time. He had the kid help and reach out for the props for him, having him put it on his parents: wearing a coat over his father and a tie, and putting on a hat and a shawl over his mother. His parents were called forward as Mr. John explained the theme of his show, Family being in relevance to an actual family. He mentions that he has performed in various places and countries, and one thing that never fails to leave him no matter where he goes is the presence of ‘family’. He had the family seated as he took a photo with them, while holding up a sign written ‘Keluarga’, which means family in Malay. Just like this, the performance ended.

    Based on my observation, the performance can be related through the theory Pedagogy of Clowning – which was introduced in 1960s by French theatre practitioner and pedagogue Jacques Lecoq. One of the principles in Pedagogy of Clowning, which can be seen through [ Family ] is Direct Engagement with the Audience, where a clown does not perform in front of an audience, but they perform with them. In [ Family ] by Mr. John, Mr. John involves the audience in his performance: from having audiences to clap as he moves about (in a segment), to having child volunteers to support his unscripted acts, to having the audiences to reply to his questions... Mr. John was capable of relying on his audiences’ mood and vibes, their immediate reaction as he improvises his acts and stuns to suit the current audiences’ taste. Mr. John’s quick-thinking fits the principle of Direct Engagement with the Audience. Furthermore, another likely principle under Pedagogy of Clowning which can be seen through Mr. John is The Use of 'The Smallest Mask in the World', whereby the usage of a powerful transformative tool. In [ Family ], though it is not clearly seen through the costume of Mr. John himself, however it can be seen through the usage of his puppets during the show, namely Chicken and Bear, where he plays them out as a ‘friend’ that are jokesters, often and mostly teases Mr. John (himself) only when Mr. John calls himself for instance ‘handsome man’. Through Chicken and Bear, they help to boost confidence and freedom to amplify Mr. John’s vulnerabilities, through the image of ‘friends’, in a teasing manner. Mr. John uses his puppet ‘friends’ to make jokes on another level, mainly about himself, for entertainment’s sake.

    In my opinion, the performance overall was heartwarming, with it in relation with its title “Family”. The last act where the child volunteer invites his family up to the front, as he dresses his parents, when he is only 7 years old (I think), becomes a valuable lesson not only for him, but also the audiences at that time, as it made me recall when was the last time I ever dressed my parents that way. Even as an adult, a youth away from her family because of university, that moment particularly connected with me as it made me remember the importance of a family, its essence and presence when we grow up in life. Watching a clown performance with my family, when I was younger... Mr. John has helped to hit the nostalgia in my heart through this act, and what was even memorable was when he took a group photo with the family. Not only did he bring a family close together, but it reminds everyone to be closer with their own families as well – or just reminds us of our own family. Though some of the acts come out childish – then again, it is mainly catered towards younger children, however the essence of ‘Family’ remains as a stain in the heart, to remember to appreciate the times with our own family.

 #mrjohnisme #KLFestival