Beaulieu-sur-Mer Bursts into Laughter: The Contemporary Clown Festival Returns
Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Friday, June 13, 2025 – The streets, squares, and gardens of this charming seaside town turn into an open-air stage for the highly anticipated return of Uzine à Gag, a festival devoted to contemporary clown art, socially conscious comedy, and burlesque performance.
Organized by the L’Embrayage à Paillettes company, the festival offers a completely free evening of shows, blending humor and reflection, irony and activism. Performances will take place in the historic Place Marinoni and the scenic Jardin de l’Olivaie, inviting audiences on a journey through bold theatrical experiments, political satire, reimagined fairy tales, and poetic urban storytelling.
For the first time, admission is free, with optional donations supporting hospital-based clown therapy programs.
Food stands and a refreshment bar will be available to enjoy snacks and drinks during the shows.
🎪 The Program: Six Acts of Wonder and One Surprise
🕕 6:00 PM – Place Marinoni
MAZORETTES – Cie L’Embrayage à Paillettes x Tulipe et Cie
A surreal parade kicks off the evening: Mazarine, played by Nathalie Masséglia, invites the audience into a poetic dream that blurs reality and imagination.
🕖 7:00 PM – Jardin de l’Olivaie
HISTOIRES DE VIE(S) – LES CONTES – Cie Boutaïni x L’Embrayage à Paillettes
Classic fairy tales reinterpreted with a critical, contemporary lens. From Snow White to #MeToo, this show explores childhood, feminism, and current social issues.
🕢 7:45 PM – Jardin de l’Olivaie
CONTRE POIDS – Cie C’est La Goutte D’Eau
A theatrical lecture that uses seagulls, sardines, and penguins to talk about empathy and mutual aid in nature. Thoughtful, poetic, and playful.
🕗 8:45 PM – Jardin de l’Olivaie
CHOCAPOV – Cie Les Steppettes
A hilarious political satire: Athanase, a childish and power-hungry dictator, dreams of world domination—while Ivana, his clever sidekick, plots her own rise.
🕘 9:45 PM – Jardin de l’Olivaie
L’HUMOUR, CE N’EST PAS (FORCÉMENT) DRÔLE – Cie de L’Embrayage à Paillettes
Thomas Oudin plays Lou Caravagnio, a humor entrepreneur trying to create the first certified “sustainable humor.” But can you really make everyone laugh without offending anyone?
🕚 11:00 PM – Jardin de l’Olivaie
SURPRISE FINALE
No spoilers here. The grand finale remains a mystery—be there to find out.
🎉 A Celebration of Comic Intelligence
More than just a festival, Uzine à Gag is an open-air lab where laughter becomes a vehicle for thought, challenge, and transformation. The shows explore themes such as identity, power, ecology, and inclusion, with bold and inventive stage language.
Following the success of past editions with productions like Mémoire(s) du Nous and Couac, the 2025 edition promises once again to entertain the mind as much as the heart.
