The husband and wife team Planet Banana met in Montreux Switzerland during its international jazz festival in 1995. Silvia was studying at the Ecole de Cirque de Nanterre near Paris and Clarke was beginning a career as a solo variety entertainer. A few years later they combined their talents as the traveling street show What’s a Jubilee. Far from the reputation street performing has in the Americas as a last-ditch option for the disenfranchised, there is a centuries old tradition in Europe where audiences expect and receive the finest entertainment across all disciplines of artistic endeavor, right there in the ancient pedestrian zones for all to enjoy.
Paris, France 1998 >
For Planet Banana, street shows laid the foundation for their wacky aesthetic, their audience fueled energy and knack for improvisation. In 1998 they won the International Street Performing Competition in Nice France. They continued to travel in Europe, North and South America where they developed an hilarious brand of entertainment all their own that provokes as it mystifies. Opportunities like performing Silvia’s corde lisse routine in front of 75,000 people at the rock group Phish’s concert in New York or Juggling in a cavernous medieval fortress for live television at the Akko Festival in Israel renewed Planet Banana to their outrageous lifestyle and dedication to being the best entertainers they can be.
< "Tango" Love Story, NYC 2002
Now the couple lives in New York City, from there they travel to Europe during the Summer Festival Season, occasionally to Asia and perform regularly at home on their own. Their story is that of love for each other, their audiences, and the art of entertainment.
