JOURNÉE RIRE QUAND MEM with the Montreal Clown Festival

At the MEM, memories have their funny side as well!

The 9th edition of the Montreal Clown Festival runs from April 10 to 18, 2026.

On Saturday, April 18, the last day of the festival, join us in the colourful and welcoming space of the MEM for two shows and an entertaining 5 à 7!

In the early afternoon, catch a cabaret specially created for kids! Join Josette Lépine, one half of the twin-sister duo, Les soeurs kif-kif, in her solo show, Les Billy-croquettes. She’ll be accompanied by a variety of stuffed animals, instruments and toys.

Join us for a 5 à 7

Our closing cocktail will be hosted in the MEM’s Belvedere space, with a view onto Sainte-Catherine Street at sunset.

Everyone is welcome to join in this networking event with clowns, circus artists and all who are curious about the art of clowning!

Grab a quick bite downstairs at Le Central food court then head back up for the festival’s closing show. Make sure to buy your ticket in advance — there’s limited seating for Alex Tatarsky’s Dirt Trip. The show is part clown lecture, part multimedia performance in Tatarsky’s signature absurdist style.

The MEM – Centre des mémoires montréalaises and Montreal Clown Festival have teamed up to put on two shows revealing the art of clowning in all its variety — shows that will appeal to kids and adults alike.

Laughter is the best MEMory of all!

About Les Billy-croquettes

Les Billy-croquettes is a small circus fanfare featuring an accordionist and her mechanical animals. Little by little, her toys gain autonomy. Who is in charge? Who is in control? The director must deal with toys that are as endearing as they are unpredictable. Physical theatre, humour, and puppetry come together in this story of lively music and disobedient machines.

Duration: 40 minutes

Audience: A cabaret for everyone, especially little kids (3 to 6 years)

Genre: Physical theatre, humour and puppets

Language: Flexible, visual content, almost no words

Cost: $22 + taxes ($25.29)

About Dirt Trip

With their visceral physicality, striking costumes and absurd, biting humour, Tatarsky blurs the line between grotesque and poetic. Praised at MoMA PS1, Dirt Trip offers a funny and deep reflection on everything society rejects — garbage, the poor, clowns, compost — and explores our collective fear of decline and death, offering a jester’s perspective on the depletion of the modern world. A unique show, both hilarious and disturbing, that opens a rare dialogue between art, politics and human absurdity.

Duration: Approximately 70 minutes

Genre: Grotesque and poetic

Language: English

Cost: $30 + taxes ($34.49)

CREDITS

Created and performed by Alex Tatarsky

Sound by Shane Riley

Set and costume design by Andreea Mincic

Lighting by Tuçe Yasak

Stage management by Maurina Lioce

Dramaturgy by Iris McCloughan, Lisa Fagan, Anh Vo

About the Montreal Clown Festival

The Montreal Clown Festival is dedicated to making Montréal audiences laugh and think by offering quality programming, unique acts and a space for discussion around contemporary issues related to clowns.

The festival, now in its 9th edition, is key to the mission of MTL Clowns: to celebrate, transmit and enrich the art of clowning while honouring its history and supporting the clown community in Montréal and beyond.

The festival creates a space where laughter and reflection come together, and where audiences are invited to discover the clown as a vector for questioning and connecting in an ever-changing society.