Judith Lanigan
Ex-Circus, published author, screenwriter, trained in Investigation and geo-political Intelligence Analysis. Usually found deep in declassified files. Loves a good spy story.
Scandalous clown, comic dancer, and charming beauty, Columbina performs with the absurdist, irreverent and acrobatic troupe the Fortunati Brothers, who have just been offered their big chance at fame and it's accompanying fortune. But to get to the gig - the wedding of the sister of the King of France- they must cross a country at war. The War of Religions is a battle between the political and powerful Roman Church who claim all moral decisions must be made by them, at a cost, and rebellious 'Protestors' who believe Right and Wrong cannot be bought and sold. Protestors who own Bibles printed in their own languages are imprisoned, their property confiscated, and then they are burnt at the stake.
A Protestor - Serge- has a desperate plan to save his imprisoned family by kidnapping the Clowns and demanding that the King release the Protestors in exchange for them. This puts not only the Fortunati's success, but also their lives, in danger.
"Just listened to the Great Clown Kidnap, saved it for a long car journey.... and it was absolutely perfect. I had to sit in the car for twenty minutes in the car park at the end of driving so I could listen to it all in one sitting. Gripping stuff and for commedia and clown junkies unmissable. Brilliant..
The Great Clown Kidnap of 1572 took the idea of what happened to the Gelosi and turned it into a damn good story. The motivations behind the characters are modern enough for a contemporary audience to relate to.."
Olly Crick, co-author of Commedia dell'arte, Troupes and Groups, and co-editor of The Routledge Companion to Commedia dell'Arte