The Clown from Long Live the Black Parade: a theory
Disclaimer : I only started watching the shows via livestreams since NJ, for the ones before I only saw some information on twitter and tumblr but didn’t watch any replays, and english isn't my main language, so sometimes, between that and the quality of the livestreams, I don't understand everything that's happening.
So, that being said, let's jump into the main subject: who, or what, is The Clown from Long Live the Black Parade?
Like I said, I didn't watch the first 5 shows. So at first, I didn't realise The clerk and The Clown were played by the same person. For me, they were two distinct characters, but after Philadelphia, I understood they were both played by Charlie Saxton. It was around this time that I also saw some theories that they were the same character. But to me, it didn't make any sense.
During the last two shows, after killing Gerard, The Clown made a call and seemed to say something along the lines of : "I don't wanna do this anymore", and was crying. So, he is also in the same timeloop as the band. And if at first, he didn't mind killing Gerard, now he seems forced and remorseful.
But The Clerk doesn't show this kind of feelings. He executes the orders from the Great Immoral Dictator, slaps Gerard - and even spanks them - but doesn't show any remorse. If they were the same character, why would his clerk persona be stoic as ever, not an emotion showing on his face, but his clown persona breaking down more and more?
So, not the same. And with the Toronto show, I think they were never meant to be the same. That night, The Clerk had an eye patch, many speculated about The Clown: would he have an eye patch too? Or maybe an injured eye socket? But no, nothing on his face, just his regular glasses. This obvious physical change only for one character is the ultimate proof for me.
Now, who is this Clown??? I mean a clerk, sure, this character doesn't feel out of place, and he’s here for a reason - to execute the orders of the Great Immoral Dictator - but a clown? Seems kinda weird, he doesn’t really fit in this universe and its aesthetic.
And when I saw him for the first time, dancing around Gerard, mimicking their moves, it reminded me of something, another show/musical with a similar character:
The clown, from Mozart l'opéra rock.
In this rock opera, the clown represents Mozart's self doubts and angst. He plays with Mozart, pushes him around, and terrorises him.
So I thought, maybe The Clown from lltbp is something like this. His character shows up at the end, only interacting with Gerard, and the rest of the band doesn’t notice him - just Gerard's corpse. And it wouldn’t be the only time we see or hear something only Gerard can see or hear.
The dagger segment in Mama is from Gerard’s internal POV: we hear their thoughts - unlike the rest of the show, where they sing for the Great Immoral Dictator - and we sometimes see them fantasize at the idea of killing The Clerk. Some say the Gentleman represents their maternal instincts, repressed to serve a greater purpose - and Draag agenda. So, maybe the clown is also a personification of their emotions.
Here, it’s their despair and their feelings of injustice: they don't want to be here, to serve Draag and the Great Immoral Dictator. Maybe they think the only way to end it, since his rebellious phase was stopped short, is to kill themself.
So, this figure, looking like the man who slaps them and torture them, who made them feel like there is no hope by forcing them to put the jacket on again, arrives and implante the idea in their head, and plants a dagger in their heart. Gerard is slowly dying, while their bandmates are kidnaped by Draag soldiers. So, they escaped, but not the others - Draag will still use them.
The ultimate solution is to explode everything.
And then, like nothing ever happened, the show resets itself, and the nightmare resumes - a time loop the band isn’t aware of, as the note from Toronto seems to imply.
