What do Latin American telenovelas and modern clowning have in common? The answer could simply be Maya Ricote, but in her debut hour Ay Am! she exposes a more profound overlap in the two performance worlds her career has straddled over the past decade. Seeing human emotions heightened and distilled is at the crux of both disciplines and Ricote playfully pulls from her acting arsenal to share a confessional coming-of-age tale under the guise of her chaotic clown. Maya (the character) is an exaggerated, dare we say inflated version of a telenovela star; a femme fatale weaponising her femininity to the extreme in the pursuit of a big break and eternal youth.
Co-created with modern clown Dan Lees, the physical comedy sensibilities are clear in Ricote’s performance, even when they’re combined with musical interludes and character work. The show’s original songs work wonders, thanks to their catchy hooks and Ricote’s unwavering commitment to delivering them – wails, grunts, screams and all. Deliberately clumsy stunts, inconsistent accents and loose audience interactions all add to the hectic hilarity of Ay Am!. A feral final act sees Ricote figuratively holding up a middle finger to telenovela traditions and fully embracing the absurd clown within her. And tonight’s audience seems to embrace her right back.
Maya Ricote: Ay Am!, Pleasance Courtyard, until 30 Aug (not 18, 25), 10:40pm