David Gaines

I’m a physical theatre performer, trained and later taught at the Ecole Lecoq in Paris. In addition to my solo performance work, I also work as a clown in the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit in Washington DC, and teach in the theatre department of George Mason University in Fairfax, VA.

I currently tour two solo performances – both wordless and set-and-prop-less, but not without vocals. The older, and more celebrated piece is entitled “7 (x1) Samurai” – a comic retelling in antic Looney Tunes pace and imagery, of the classic Kurosawa film “Seven Samurai”. It has been a big hit at Fringe festivals across the US and Canada, and has garnered many awards.

The newest piece is entitled “A Little Business at the Big Top”, and depicts an entire circus and the struggles of a popcorn booth worker who fancies the beautiful aerial ballerina. A chase scene and struggle on the high wire is the breathtaking climax to this Chaplin-meets-Popeye-meets Steve Martin anarchic romp.