The 6th annual Toronto Festival of Clowns got underway last night at the Studio Theatre at Pia Bouman School last night. Running until June 5th, the festival features four full-length shows and four cabarets that aim to explore the nature of the clown and entertain the audience at the same time. If your image of the average clown is borrowed from Stephen King's "The It," you might be surprised to find a general lack of red noses (although there are one or two). Indeed, many of the common misconceptions about clowns are likely to be shattered by the various forms of physical theatre on display over the course of the festival. Unlike the boozed-up bozo that did your birthday party as a kid, here you'll find established actors engaging in social commentary and just plain fun hijinks.

Ticket information and show schedules can be found here.

PHOTOS

Photos by Christian Bobak