The Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army (also known as CIRCA and Clown Army) was an anti-authoritarian left-wing activist group primarily active from 2003 to 2005 in the United Kingdom. The Clown Army used clowning and non-violent tactics to act against corporate globalisation, war, capitalism, and heavy policing of protests, among other issues.
Activity
Origin CIRCA emerged from the direct action movement in London in November 2003 in response to U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to the United Kingdom.
The Clown Army was founded by Lawrence M. Bogad (Colonel Oftruth), Jay [formerly John] Jordan (Kolonel Klepto), Hilary Ramsden (General Confusion), Theo Price, Matthew Trevelyan, Jennifer Version, and Zoe Young (Private Individual).
George Bush protest CIRCA's protest against George W. Bush's 2003 visit to the United Kingdom was announced under the premise that the clown army would storm Buckingham Palace in a protest against the Queen inviting the 'wrong sort of fool' back in.
The Clown Army paraded through the streets of London in a militant formation, following satirical orders of "Right-sneer!" and "Left-spit!". They marched behind the guards at the Tower of London and launched pink pretzels (in reference to Bush previously choking on a pretzel) at corporate buildings from a cardboard circus cannon. In the park across from Buckingham Palace, the clowns dropped to the ground and army-crawled towards the palace in a pantomime of sneaking, pretending to take cover behind singular fallen leaves they held up. Upon arrival at the Palace, the Clown Army delivered a manifesto denouncing Bush, cheered and celebrated, then disbanded.
Occupation of Leeds In response to the United Kingdom's incomplete withdrawal from Iraq in June 2004, CIRCA occupied Leeds under what they labelled the Clown Provisional Authority in their Anti-Official Communique #3, “Re: the so-called handover of Iraq, June 2004”.
The Clown Army occupied the Leeds BBC HQ, the Labour Party offices, the Menwith Hill spy base, and the local armed forces recruitment centre, causing a scene and refusing to leave. After the recruitment centre was forced to close early due to CIRCA's disruption, the clowns set up their own Clown Army recruitment centre outside.
G8 Protest Recruitment Tour Prior to the 31st G8 Summit in Scotland, CIRCA travelled to London, Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham,Cork- Eire,Sheffield, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Newcastle, and Glasgow in a caravan pulled by a biodiesel-fueled van, courtesy of the Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination.
In each city, CIRCA would put on a performance involving puppetry, origami, performance art, and video presentations that would spread their message and raise consciousness about the issues that the Clown Army was fighting against. They would also hand out organic chips to their audience, and explain that the leftover fat from the chip fryer would fuel their van to get them to the next city.
After their performance, CIRCA would lead two day Big Shoe Camps for any locals who may be interested in enlisting in the Clown Army.
G8 protests About 150 clowns acting for the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army showed up to the protests against the G8 summit in July 2005. Each day of the protests, a clown council made up of about 15 affinity groups, called 'gaggles', would be held to determine courses of action for the day.
Make Poverty History March/Operation Brown-Nose On 1 July 2005, the day before the Make Poverty History march in Edinburgh, CIRCA held a press conference in Bristo Square and released the communique #8.86, “Re: Operation BROWN-NOSE”. The press conference demonstrated CIRCA's protest techniques such as marching and call-and-response, and explained their approach to the protests against G8. Operation Brown Nose responded to the promised presence of Labour Party leaders Gordon Brown and Hillary Benn at the Make Poverty History March. The operation would involve patrolling and protecting the march and otherwise participating in the demonstration as usual.
During the Make Poverty History march on 2 July 2005, CIRCA marched alongside other protestors and played games, performed slapstick routines, and improvised. When a group of black bloc protestors were surrounded by police, the Clown Army encircled the police until the protestors were released.
Faslane nuclear submarine base blockade/Operation Mass Distraction CIRCA participated in a blockade of the Faslane nuclear submarine base organized by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament on 4 July 2005. The Clown Army labelled their deployment in the blockade as Operation Mass Distraction, in reference to the war on Iraq being framed as a war against a terrorist state with weapons of mass destruction, and distracting from the countries of the G8 protecting their own nuclear weapons.
Carnival for Full Enjoyment CIRCA facilitated and participated in the Carnival for Full Enjoyment in Edinburgh on 4 July 2005. This city-wide event called for workers to cast aside corporate concerns for the day and enjoy life without the pressures of capitalism. Filling the streets with festivities, the Carnival disrupted daily corporate proceedings and aimed to provide a free space for imagination to run wild. Carnival-goers played games, danced to samba bands, and celebrated.
Since the Carnival was anti-authority in nature, no permits were requested for the event. Viewing the event as a possible threat, a police force of approximately 10,000 was called in response.
Many confrontations occurred between police and protestors, ranging from benign to playful to even violent, in one instance where dancing clowns were baton-charged by police. In another, more frivolous, instance, clowns atop a bridge convince the police to play a game of ‘Dwarfs, Wizards, and Giants’ (a variant on rock paper scissors involving teams and full body movements) with them. When both the clowns and the police chose to be wizards, they, as per the rules, called it a draw and hugged.
The Carnival for Full Enjoyment was largely inspired by the 18 June 1999 Carnival Against Capital that occurred in response to the 25th G8 Summit in Cologne, Germany.
Operation HA.HA.HAA CIRCA's Operation HA.HA.HAA (Helping Authorities House Arrest Half-witted Authoritarian Androids) took place on 6 July 2005, the first date of the 31st G8 Summit, during the mass protest organized by G8 Alternatives outside of the Gleneagles Hotel where the summit was being held.
The operation was intended to invert the expectations of how protestors would act. It was based on the premise that the police guarding the summit were not keeping protestors out, but rather keeping the ‘dangerous’ members of the G8 inside. Rather than try to scale the fences and break in to disrupt the meeting, rebel clowns helped build fences higher and ‘guard’ where the members of the G8 were ‘being detained’. The clowns also created mobile road blocks to disrupt travels to the G8 meeting.
Decline After the protests at the G8 summit, CIRCA fell into a period of inactivity and eventual dissolution. CIRCA's website domain (www.clownarmy.org) became defunct and was put up for sale in 2015.
Structure and organization The Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army was a non-hierarchical, horizontalist organization. It had no real leaders and operates as a collective of smaller locale-based affinity groups, known in the Clown Army as ‘gaggles’. Each gaggle consisted of roughly ten to fifteen clowns, identified by monikers such as Glasgow Kiss, Group Sex, or Backward Intelligence. The clowns themselves were known as 'clownbattants', 'rebel clowns', or simply clowns, fools, buffoons, or any number of synonyms. Individual rebel clown names typically parody military ranks, such as General Confusion, Major Disaster, or Private Parts.
Any decisions that affect the larger group were made through consensus via clown council. In a clown council, all gaggles of clowns sat in a circle and elected a spokesperson, and the spokes council discusses the matter. The gaggles then discussed amongst themselves before returning to the larger group to communicate their decision. Once the council reached a consensus on one issue, they would move on to the next. Sometimes this consensus would simply take the form of each gaggle doing what they wanted to do.
Leadership responsibilities were distributed based on circumstances and were limited to temporarily organizing specific actions. Most actions of CIRCA, however, require no leaders and are determined by collectivity, spontaneity, and emergent intelligence.
This non-hierarchical approach made surveillance and control of the Clown Army by authorities more difficult and served as a prefiguration for the autonomist future that the Clown Army was working towards. Since no clown had any more authority than another, members could not be coerced into doing something they did not want to do, and each member was equally responsible for keeping the army alive through participation and commitment.
Big Shoe Camp
New members of CIRCA were required to take part in a minimum two-day training known as "Big Shoe Camp", in a parody of military boot camps. In these trainings, members learned marches and maneuvering, as well as building skills for working together without leaders. The training also helps new recruits to develop their clown persona, including creating a clown name, makeup look, physicality, and costume. CIRCA uses games and exercises in the training to practice being a clown, working together, and improvising under pressure, many of which are adapted from theatre improvisation games and Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed.
Name switch This game involves walking around a room, pointing at objects, and alternating between calling them the correct name and calling them what they are not. This is intended to encourage spontaneity and break normal patterns of thinking.
Hug tag This game is identical to the classic game of tag, except that the players must hug another player in order to not be tagged. This is intended to familiarize recruits with physicality and touch, as well as the importance of helping others and not running away when in danger.
Yes, Let's All... This exercise involves one participant suggesting an action in the “Let's all..” format and demonstrating the action, which the other participants repeat and mimicking until a new participant suggests a new action. This is intended to practice taking and surrendering leadership, as well as acting together as a group.
Pass the Red Nose This exercise is a modified version of the classic hot potato game, in which the players pass a red clown nose while singing a song. When they stop, whoever is holding the nose must put it on and stand in front of the group while being watched and complimented. This is intended to make recruits more comfortable with attention, as well as to build confidence.
Appearance The costumes of members of CIRCA were created and customized by each member, but they shared common characteristics- a multiform rather than a uniform. The costumes and clown personae helped create a barrier between the members of CIRCA and the emotional or verbal abuse that they may endure. Insults were thrown at the clown, not the person underneath.
All clowns wore face paint and makeup. The designs were unique and personalized, but they typically reflected the white-faced clown style, complete with red noses. The makeup added to the comical atmosphere the Clown Army brings to protests while also protecting the anonymity of members, offering the clown a sense of separation from expected social etiquette, and fostering a sense of unity across the clown army.