Nathan Vs. The Clown

So there's this new guy at hockey. I think that he's the one who pinged me on the shoulder with a puck at the end of practice yesterday - not the same shoulder as last time, but through a similar series of events left me with a shoulder so sore that I could not raise my beer to my mouth, which believe me, is pretty sore. He doesn't have a great shot, but he's got good dexterity, is very solid on his skates but deceptively graceful.

He should be. After all, he's a clown.

Derek is an actor from Toronto in town with Slava's Snow Show, which is a theatre event which defies description. The quote online is that Slava's "is to clowning what Cirque de Soleil is to circus." A bold statement, but one which we put to the test tonight.

Not having a clue as to what the show was about, just that it's a Russian clown show (which really didn't enlighten Kris and I, unfamiliar as we are with Russian clowns), we got tickets because 1) we thought it would be a good way to spend a Tuesday otherwise squandered on NCIS reruns, and 2) it would be cool to see Derek in action (off the ice).

Well. If you've never been, go. You can borrow my car. It turns out that the Snow Show is a visually arresting spectacle which makes you laugh out loud, want to cry, and made an octagenarian in front of us grin like a little boy. I still don't know what it was about, and will likely have flashbacks during which I try to assign some sort of narrative which may not exist or which may be completely inferred, but even on a Tuesday, surrounded by an audience remarkable only for its tepidness (tepidity? tepiduosity?), it was a moving, enjoyable night.

The only down side is that this week the Snow Show will be leaving town, and so will Derek, riding through the rainy Perth winter night on a Vespa, his hockey gear strapped to his back, stick like an antenna high above his helmet, and long curly clown hair waving in the breeze behind him, leaving smiles in his wake.

I'd toast him, but I can't raise this stinkin' glass...