Techno, Clowns and Chaos? Inside the Living Nightmare of Buck Scourge
Somewhere between a fever dream, a house party, and a maths lesson gone wrong lives Buck Scourge: Living Nightmare — a techno clown show that could only have been born in Wellington. The show pairs performer and clown conjurer Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin with sonic shapeshifter Billsy (Will), two comedic pals who also happen to be high school teachers vying for their students’ appreciation.
Together, they’ve built something wild: part comedy, part rave, part existential sermon delivered in bubble wrap and papal robes. Buck Scourge is the cheeky guest who raids your fridge and rewires your stereo; the inner clown who refuses to behave. With accompanying music ranging from elevator jazz to “breather drum n bass,” this show promises a delirious blend of play, noise, and physical comedy — performed with the audience, not just for them.
We caught up with Sean and Billsy to find out how a maths teacher and a musician-turned-educator became co-conspirators in the world’s most unlikely collaboration: a techno clown show that doesn’t take itself seriously… but might just make you rethink everything you thought you knew about clowns, sound, and connection.
Sean, Who is Buck Scourge? What’s his personality type?
Sean: Buck Scourge is the cheeky guest at a party who’s playing with the electronics and taking cheese from the fridge. He’s always keen to see what he can get away with and ends up dragging strangers into his antics. These strangers ultimately become life long friends with Buck, and the magic between people is never lost on him.
This clown feels like me at my most playful. Buck Scourge is the version of Sean that doesn’t have to dress up and go to work every day and in many ways he’s just me, more, and uninhibited.
From the videos we’ve seen… how many characters live inside Buck Scourge?
Sean: Do we not all contain multitudes? For this performance, I understand how we can only release a certain number of clowns (we only have the space for 60 minutes). In LIVING NIGHTMARE you can expect a number of clowns somewhere in the late single digits. You must be aware though, that many more lay just below the surface – looking for the right joke to jump out with!
Where did he come from — was there a spark, a dream, a breakdown, a Parisian clown school epiphany?
Sean: The clowns come to me while I’m sleeping. They occur in dreams, sometimes day dreams, when the world is peaceful and on days when you can’t beat Wellington. It is almost against my will that these visions occur – smashing watermelons, running through the seating block, a descending pickle.
I’m just trying to live a normal life. Not much but it’s honest work. These clowns pla(y)gue my thoughts! They provoke me into action. They inspire me to be cheeky and to find the fun and lightness in every day. They keep me honest. In many ways the clowns come from me as much as I come from the clowns (blah blah blah).
We’d love to understand more about the pope costume and the bubble wrap?!
Sean: Over in France I was given the costume of the Pope to perform in. I have never met the Pope and so am very unfamiliar with his(?) ways, mannerisms, favourite things, etc. My tutor, Carlos, said to me that this was a good thing and that it’s important to have distance so that your version of something can shine. From this I asked myself the question: what do I think the Pope is like? My answer: he(?) seems like someone who forgives other people and is generally chill but who also has a phone and can call God(?).
The bubble wrap is for protection – that one gets too excited!
How does your clown training influence the way you approach this kind of character and physicality?
Sean: My clown training has shown me that there are a number of ways to clown equal to, no fewer than or exceeding, the number of people there are. This means I had to find my own way (everyone else's way was taken) which I’ve learnt involves being with the audience, not just in front of them.
When I have a dream of a character I think to myself, who is this? What do they walk with? How do they speak? What game does this person like to play? What are they in love with? Are they a dog person or a bird person? From here I create a physicality and cadence.
Next is to show people. Something I took away from my training is that an entrance is very important and should be a big deal (this also gives me time to listen and look at the audience). It’s simple: People like people-watching so I let people people-watch before my people (clown, also people-watching) goes into the people people-watching.
Will, you’ve got a background as a busy independent musician and sonic artist Bill Heavens, and now you’re a teacher. What was that transition like?
Will: It was quite a relief really! I don’t think I’m built for the creative industry, the structure of teaching lets me focus on music being something for my own enjoyment and enrichment.
What drew you into this bizarre and brilliant collaboration?
Will: It didn’t take long after being seated together in the Maths department workroom for Sean and me to descend into obscure references and bizarre jokes (?). I dropped a few hints here and there that we could work well together and eventually Sean started asking if I wanted to make something of this life. I’ve always appreciated the chaotic energy that lies within Sean as an individual and the clowns have not been disappointing on that front.
How would you describe the music of Buck Scourge — is it driving the clown, or is the clown driving the beat?
Will: One thing I love about working with Sean is that they are incredibly open to offers and ideas I bring, while also having plenty of vision for potential musical cues. The development process has been pretty fluid as a result. I would say that the clown is always at the heart of the music, which leads to a variety of styles across the show, from elevator jazz to ‘breather drum n bass’ and the occasional dubstep bass.
How do you build soundscapes that interact with such unpredictable performance energy?
Will: A lot of the soundscapes have been built for the character to live in and give room for me to focus on trying to play with Sean via a variety of samples and sound effects. There has been less focus on bringing in live musical cues this time around as I want the show to be somewhat tourable for Sean as a solo clown overseas.
You guys are both teachers — are any of your students keen to witness their mentors and idols (?) in this collab?
Will: Every now and then I drop a reference to “working on a clown show with Mr Burns” and I think the students couldn’t be less interested.
Sean: These kids don’t know GOOD CLOWNING when it DANCES IN THEIR MATHS CLASS. I have genuinely performed bits and pieces of my more popular clown routines for these kids (who WANTED TO KNOW) and they GIVE ME A SIDE EYE and then DO ALGEBRA WILLINGLY rather than engage x
The words “techno clown show” makes for a fun way to describe this show. What kind of reactions have you had when you tell people what you’re making?
Sean: Sometimes people ask me to repeat myself and it’s hard to say if they didn’t hear me or due to genuine surprise. I repeat myself: “I’m making a techno clown show!” and they look at me, thinking for a second, and then say: “This is a VTNZ.” There have also been times when I’ve informed people at parties although I am less sure where they work (sorry).
How would you describe this show to someone who has never experienced “techno clown” before?
Sean: I would say that it’s like a clown show but with cool music. Music you hear and think: damn, hell yeah. The kind of music which you hear at hospo house parties after the singalong songs have stopped and the only people jumping around are on something. Imagine that music but there’s a clown running around.
How do you communicate on stage — musically, physically… telepathically?
Sean: To many, it will be imperceptible. It is a technique of our own design that I will(ingly!) share. For reasons I won’t go into, Billsy is separate from me, which means there is space between us. How can we communicate across this space? Everyone could be looking at me so I have to make it very subtle! I have to consider where my eyes are pointing, and if they are not at Billsy, I think to change that. Looking up at Billsy is like a revelation – CLICKING and PRESSING away at their keyboard(s). Then the idea comes to me: oh! I shouldn’t look… I should LISTEN. Through Billsy’s fingers shoot comedic and musical cues that tell me important details about the scene: a moo, ambiguous at first, definitely signals a cow.
What is the audience in for?
Sean: Something different but involved. My style of clowning is with the audience, not just in front of them (but also besides and sometimes behind!). I run around, I engage, I see them as much as they are seeing me. That sounds intense (and I’m sure it is!) but it’s also relaxed in a way… audiences can be on their phones during the show and come and go; it’s not the opera! I reckon audiences are in for a genuine sense of play with their performer and I hope that people get a kick out of it.
Buck Scourge: Living Nightmare is showing at The Hannah for one night only! Saturday 1 November.