Leo Bassi (New York, 1952) is an actor and comedian, world-renowned for his extravagant theatrical performances and his innumerable provocative actions. Leo Bassi is descended from an ancient line of eccentric comedians and circus clowns from Italy, France, England, Austria and Poland. The family has been acting uninterruptedly for 150 years (six generations). He is a libertarian, irreverent and cosmopolitan spirit from the nineteenth-century circus. His art, free of conventions, offers the public an exciting, sensational and shocking experience, in which provocation is a language, not a purpose.
The various recognitions and awards he has received during his career include prizes from critics in Barcelona, Cannes and Munich, the OBIE or Off-Broadway Prize (New York), the Barcelona FAD Prize, the Amendola Festival Prize (Italy), the Nas d’Or Prize (Barcelona), the Moers Comedy Festival Prize (Germany), the Just For Laughs Festival Prize (Montreal, Canada), and others from Chile, Portugal and Spain. He was elected Italy’s official representative at the Moscow Theater Olympiads.
He began work in the circus at the age of seven, and travelled all over the world, mostly acting as a juggler. At an early age, in an effort to rediscover what it means to be a clown, he left the family show to travel alone for five years, acting in the street, with an eclectic show called “The Smallest Circus in the World”.
He is known for his provocative style, his criticism of the political right, religious fanaticism and corruption. He has appeared in television programmes such as “Crónicas marcianas” and “El hormiguero”. He is also a magnificent and critical speaker. He is the author of the play “La revelación”, a tribute to secularism, which brought about violent reactions by Spanish ultra-Catholic groups.
He has been constantly censored and attacked because of his criticism of corruption and political conservatism. In 2011 Leo Bassi created the website “PPLeaks”, which, inspired by Wikileaks, invites visitors to send information anonymously about cases of corruption in the Partido Popular.
LiberPress Camins Award 2013
Leo Bassi received the LiberPress Camins Award because, throughout his life, he has demonstrated, by means of mordant humour, bloody parody, fierce provocation, piercing sarcasm and incomparable wit, that he is sharply critical of and rebels against mean conservatism, unbridled corruption, fanaticism, credulity, servility, alienation, stupidity and foolishness; because he has denounced political crimes and intolerance and has opened up paths full of imagination and entertainment, which help us to think and reflect, move us and touch our feelings.