Altwarg feels the same. “Back when I was living in Paris, I had no money at all, and I used to clown on the streets to save up. Once I had money, the first thing I did was run to the patisserie and buy a big, cream cake. Back then, I couldn’t imagine that I could work here, right in the heart of it.”
Enduring public curiosity
All four say it’s addictive – and say that it’s important the public feel that. “A lot of people who would never have been to a theatre, they don’t feel it’s something they’re interested in,” says Altwarg. “But there’s a lot of curiosity – they want to see what this guy with a bed of nails is doing. They’re enjoying something they never anticipated they would enjoy.”
Kuba agrees, saying that their shows are, by definition, extremely accessible. They ask the public to give money at the end of their act, but say there’s no pressure on those that can’t pay. “After the pandemic, people brought camping chairs to see us,” he says, delighted by the commitment.
Their love of performing – and of performing in Covent Garden in particular – means the behaviour of the council is interpreted as a personal affront. “It’s misdirection,” says Altwarg, in the parlance of their acts. “It is!” says Kolofsky. In fact, he says, the licence system in Leicester Square has meant the noise levels have risen there.
“Performers there think they’re playing Wembley Stadium. The council could do something about it, but they don’t.” It’s this that makes the CGSPA feel as if they are being targeted – something the council denies.
Kuba says they don’t want to emulate Leicester Square. An ideal outcome would be one that allows the CGSPA to continue their system of self-support. “We do a benefit when a performer has a problem and can’t work; we encourage acts from overseas to come over and we learn from each other. This wouldn’t be possible with the licensing system – we already say everyone has to have insurance, but groups from abroad won’t bother applying for a licence if they are only here for a month.”
Kolofsky’s outlook is darker. “If Westminster Council were successful, the result would be the death of Covent Garden street theatre. If that comes to pass then we would have to look at initiating legal proceedings and continuing our fight through the judicial system.”
If not noise complaints, what, then, do the CGSPA think the true problem is? Kolofsky has his suspicions. “It’s all politics,” he says enigmatically, before heading out into the snow. He gets into costume: defiantly baring his chest, and his knives, to the snow-covered cobbles.
Altwarg watches on. “You know, councils are always going on about placemaking,” he says. “You can’t do ‘placemaking’ from the top down. It’s the grassroots, it’s the performers that make the atmosphere… this is the real thing.”