Inside the Clown: What Thom Tuck Learns Each Time He Plays Scaramouche Jones

In Scaramouche Jones, a 100-year-old clown looks back on a life of exile, absurdity and unexpected grace. Performed by comedian Thom Tuck, the show is both lyrical and comic - layering decades of storytelling into a single 75-minute monologue. Tuck first performed the play fresh out of university in 2005 and has now committed to returning to the role every ten years until, one day, he reaches the clown’s age. Here, he reflects on Fringe memories, the shifting tone of comedy, and what a fictional clown might reveal about real human resilience.

You have said you will perform Scaramouche Jones every 10 years until you get as old as the 100 year-old character. What made you decide this?

Well… I thought it was a funny idea. And that’s what we comedians do. Think of something funny, then do it. Often it’s just a joke rather than a decades long experiment. But, hopefully people will be interested in how the show and the performance has changed… have I improved? Gotten less flexible? Secured a more comfortable venue?

Tell us about the character of Scaramouche. Is he entirely fictional?

Now that’s something I can’t really speak too authoritatively about, as I am not the author. I could e-mail Justin and ask him, but instead I’ll hazard a guess that: no, the clown is not entirely fictional. Instead, it’s an amalgamation of all the clowns the writer had met over the years.

How have audience reactions to the character changed over the years?

That’s very difficult for me to judge, as outwardly they appear very similar. They all sit facing the same way, laugh at the funny bits and applaud at the end. But, inwardly, the story might be landing with people differently depending on the climate of the times.

Has every Edinburgh Fringe you’ve performed at been different? Do you have a favourite year? If so, why?

The Fringe has changed remarkably since my first summer here in 1999. Curiously enough, 1999 is when the play is set… on Millenium Eve. Back then, comedy was still a bit of an upstart in the programme, whereas now it can seem to be the driving force of the whole thing. Perhaps that is a biased view from inside my own comedian’s head, but it feels that way. Of course, every Fringe is different when you are performing different shows… the vibes change if you are doing a kids show at 11 a.m. or a late night cabaret. I think my favourite year must be 2008, though. That was when The Penny Dreadfuls really hit our stride with our third show. It was an ambitious sketch show play populated with assassins and cultists and explosions, we had teamed up with a puppetry company to create shadow puppet vignettes and we were in the brilliant Pleasance Two - such a characterful space. We sold out every show and loads of our heroes came to see it. And, technically, it is the reason everyone won the Panel Prize that year. You’re welcome!

What do you hope people feel or think about after watching the show?

Well I reckon they’ll think, first of all, “well done him for learning all of that”. But I hope they think a bit about the nature and purpose of comedy. Why do we try to make others laugh? Is it a noble endeavour or just a muck-about?

Why do you think people connect with Scaramouche’s story?

Scaramouche is very much someone to whom life happens, knocked from pillar to post and buffeted around the world until he finally comes to rest and realises who he is. And I think we can feel a little powerless sometimes, at the mercy of the world… and maybe the answer to this impotence is not rebellion, but acceptance. Plus, it’s funny. And god knows we all like a laugh.

‘Scaramouche Jones’ is at the Edinburgh Fringe this August. For tickets and more information, visit: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/scaramouche-jones