David Larible

Described for years by the press as “the greatest classic clown of our time,” David Larible is perhaps the only living comedian capable of performing both for intimate theatre audiences and for massive crowds such as the Madison Square Garden in New York, where he was seen by over 120,000 spectators in a single weekend.

His smiling face appeared for years on the huge digital screens of Times Square, where he performed with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, the legendary three-ring circus that has presented its shows in the most prestigious venues across North America.

For years, his shows have enjoyed extraordinary success in theatres all over the world.

Poetic and hilarious, melancholic yet explosive, with a character inspired by Chaplin’s little tramp from The Kid, Larible wins the hearts of audiences of all ages and nationalities through the irresistible magic of his humor.

Produced by Mosaico Errante, a company dedicated to bringing the art and tradition of popular theatre to audiences in Italy and abroad, The Clown of Clowns is Larible’s one-man theatrical show, a collection of his finest comic acts. It tells the story of a theatre janitor who dreams of becoming a clown… and succeeds!

He enters quietly—eyes distracted, hands in his pockets, unsure of his step. Yet with just a few gestures, he turns his hesitant movements into a cascade of laughter and wonder. He captivates, charms, and moves his audience.

Assisted by another comical character, Andrea Ginestra, who amusingly tries (and fails) to restrain his exuberance, Larible plays with the great symbols of Italian culture: the prima ballerina, opera, and classical music, presenting a unique style of clowning that combines the poetic humor of modern visual comedy with the earthy vitality of traditional popular performance.

The show is enriched by musical pieces performed by Larible himself (he plays five instruments), accompanied on piano by Maestro Mattia Gregorio.

His unmistakable style draws inspiration from circus tradition, encounters Fellini’s dreamlike world, and passes through the Commedia dell’Arte. What David brings to the stage is, in every sense, a story, an artistic confession, a sincere self-portrait—a small yet profound handbook of laughter and poetry.

At the end of the show, after helping the audience shed their own masks, David can remove his and humbly return to his role as janitor—ending where he began: as an ordinary man, with the soul of a clown.

The Clown of Clowns.

Over the years, this show has been performed in the most prestigious theatres in Italy and around the world, enjoying tremendous success—from the Goldoni Theatre in Venice to the Winter Theatre in Sochi (Russia), from the Donizetti Theatre in Bergamo to the Gran Teatro Nacional in Lima (Peru), from the Teatro Vittoria in Rome to the Simón Bolívar Theatre in Quito (Ecuador), from the Bellini Theatre in Naples to the Verdi Theatre in Florence, and even at the Duse Theatre in Bologna and the Théâtre Princesse Grace in Monte Carlo.