The Great Escape

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‘The Great Escape’ is an interactive physical theatre and corporeal mime show following a little Jewish clown, Apfel Tucas, on the Jewish New Year. The audience joins her every step of the way, from squeezing into her Rosh Hashanah best, to the traditional walk to temple, attending childrens services, and her eventual great escape!

Set against the backdrop of all those unspoken rules in religious spaces and a five-year old’s incurable curiosity, things quickly spiral into mayhem, magic, and the kind of trouble that makes adults laugh knowingly, and children giggle with glee.

This show is about the joy of finding fun where you’re definitely not supposed to, bending the rules just enough to make things interesting, and celebrating that spark of mischief and wonder that connects all of us, no matter our religion or background.

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Audience Reviews

“Join the hilarious life of Apfel Tucas, the cheeky five-year-old clown as she makes a daring escape from synagogue! Joined by her sidekick Froggy, some whimsical mermaids, the “Rebeccas” and irresistible snacks, Ruthie Scarpino delivers outrageous physical theatre, brilliant clowning, and absolute mayhem! This show is filled with laugh-out-loud moments that leave you gasping for air, and we can’t wait to welcome her back in August!”
– Françoise Voranger, Founder of Hybrid Movement Company

"Ruthie brings forth a dynamic show, blending honed control of physicality into an immersive narrative which leaves you feeling like you've made a new friend"

-berlinclowns.com

Artist Bio

RUTHIE SCARPINO (she/her) is a director, clown, and corporeal mime with a background in aerial acrobatics, circus, and theatre. She works on both sides of the stage, performing and directing, most recently in The Great Escape, a physical-comedy solo that premiered at the Biennale des Arts du Mime et du Geste with international tours in 2025/26. An alumna of the École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq and apprentice to corporeal-mime master Ivan Baciocchi, she has 15 years of international experience, collaborating with companies in Wales, Scotland, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, with regular tours to New York. Core to her practice is Applied Arts work, which she takes into schools, prisons, refugee camps, special-needs centers, and programs for undocumented children. Based in Berlin, she co-founded the Silent Night Cabaret, a showcase for silent-show artists.

Photo Credit: Jeremy Knowles Photography.

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