Now, JIMBO is bringing her Clown Town to Just For Laughs (JFL) Vancouver on February 21. 

“JIMBO’s performance was truly a stand-out on [Roast Battle Canada] and we couldn’t be more excited to bring Clown Town to comedy and drag fans in Vancouver,” wrote Nick Brazao, vice president of programming and talent at JFL.

Ahead of the show, JIMBO took a brief pause from planning to chat with RANGE from her studio and creative space in Victoria’s Chinatown. 

“I was kind of born a drag queen,” JIMBO explains, recalling a childhood of dressing up in her mother and grandmother’s clothes and playing in their make-up. “Back in the 80s, it wasn’t really a good thing for boys to be playing with girl things,” she adds, “so it was something I kind of had to secretly love.”

After moving from Ontario to Victoria in the early noughties, JIMBO worked with the Atomic Vaudeville, where she took clowning classes under its co-founder Britt Small. 

“I took my first clown workshop with Britt,” she says, “and it really unlocked an understanding of performance for me.” Through her clowning, she was able to invite her drag back in and start exploring her feminine side more.

Her time working in fashion, production design, and puppetry – she was the original puppeteer of The Amazing Karnak for the cult favourite musical Ride the Cyclone – also informs her art as JIMBO the Clown.

“It was sort of my training ground, theater, which is all about making the most with the least, it’s a lot of making magic on a budget,” JIMBO explains. “Drag is all about ‘how do you take what’s around you, what you have, and what’s accessible to you to make yourself into your dream version of yourself or into another version of yourself?’” 

When designing a show like Clown Town, JIMBO first asked herself what would make her and her friends laugh. “What do I want to see and put out there in the world?” She adds. “What’s most interesting to me at that time and what am I exploring through my art?”

For her show at JFL Vancouver, the look and vibe is that of a comedy circus. While JIMBO herself will be performing multiple roles – including her now-iconic Joan Rivers impersonation for a 45-minute comedy set – other artists will also be joining her in the ring. 

Her troupe comprises fellow drag performers Venus and PM along with comedy singer Shirley Gnome and comedian Steev Letts. “I really wanted to include some of my West Coast friends and, you know, funny people, collaborators,” she explains. 

“JIMBO is an icon for the freaks and the queerdos and the people who crave something new, inspired, creepy, joyful, and fabulous,” wrote Gnome. “JIMBO having chosen this crew as her opening acts is such a wonderful way to support the local scenes of comedy, drag and clown here.”

JIMBO also notes that Clown Town finding a home in JFL Vancouver’s line-up – joining James Acaster, David Letterman, and Zach Galifianakis, to name a few– is especially important for inclusion, visibility, and artistic diversity. 

“There’s a lot of division. There’s a lot of phobia. There’s a lot of fear. And I would love to break that down. Comedy is the perfect universal language. It breaks down barriers. I want to bring together our straight people, our queer people. I want to bring everyone together to have a good laugh and enjoy themselves.”

“Drag is such a key element of the comedy landscape and we’re proud to present this concept, which also platforms other local comedians and drag performers,” added Brazao. “It should be an amazing night.” An amazing night is exactly what JIMBO and her troupe intend to provide. 

“For me, as a performer,” she says, “My goal every time is to give my fans and my friends and the people that have shown up and shown out the best night and the best show. And I want them to leave going, ‘OK, what’s next? How do I get more? How do I see more?’”

JIMBO’s Clown Town comes to the Vogue Theatre on Feb. 21 as part of JFL Vancouver. TICKETS & INFO.