Puddles Pity Party

Everybody knows the most dangerous place to sit at any performance that may have elements of audience interaction is the front row.

Sitting all the way down the back should, in theory, save you from a night of embarrassment. Not so when the man on stage, Puddles, a seven-foot clown from Atlanta, Georgia will happily head off through the crowd to hunt out unwilling victims. Right from the outset Puddles pulled people up onstage to sing to them and give them balloons and party hats. He also encouraged group singalongs and provided plenty of laughs. But his rich, soaring voice also turned cheesy pop hits such as ABBA’s Dancing Queen into moments of elegant beauty. Some songs were more recognisable than others. Sia’s Chandelier was given an unexpected reworking. And Lorde’s Royals, a YouTube must-see, surely provided the audience tonight with this week’s ear worm. Giant Dwarf was the perfect venue for Puddles. The lighting and faded grandeur of the stage combined with Puddles’ traditional sad clowning costume contributed to a stunning aesthetic that crescendoed in a stunning version of the Leonard Cohen classic, Hallelujah.