What Is Art? What Is Sexy? And Why Is This Clown Topless? Meet Jessica, aka TITCLOWN

In her new Edinburgh Fringe show TITCLOWN, Jessica Aszkenasy puts the female body front and centre - not to titillate, but to provoke, disrupt and take the piss. Blending absurdist clowning with biting satire, the show dismantles artistic ego, gendered expectations and the strange, chaotic space where performance meets perception. With roots in Gaulier clown training and real-life sex work, Jessica’s debut solo show is funny, fearless, and not at all what you think it’s going to be. We caught up with her to talk tits, clowning, creative control and why play might just be the most radical tool we have.

TITCLOWN has been described as a satire of art, ego, and gendered expectations - what sparked the idea for the show?

A lot of it is a sort of mad translation of my path into this industry. I don’t come from a theatre family. My mum went to university to study art before she had me at age 22 and raised me by herself. My grandparents came to this country after the Second World War. Being able to do this feels incredibly indulgent in some ways. I work quite hard to convince myself that it’s okay for me to do this. So, arriving at this point to then be confronted with a load of skewered gender dynamics basically made me vomit out this show. 

You trained at Gaulier, a notoriously demanding clown school. What did that environment teach you about performance? And what did it not teach?

It taught me to go hard or go home. No one cares about your half-baked impression of a dinosaur or whatever. Go big, and make sure you care about what it is you’re performing. And listen to the audience. It’s incredibly easy to go on stage and get locked in panic or get locked in your idea and try and force that idea onto an audience. Gaulier taught me how not to do that. What they don’t teach you is how you, as an individual, should be on stage. They want you to find that for yourself. As a performer, that journey gives you a lot of confidence and self-belief. 

You launched an OnlyFans account while at Gaulier - how did that decision reshape your sense of agency as both a performer and a woman?

Well in a practical sense, it gave me the agency to stay on at the school as I was running out of money. Most institutions come with their own set of problematic dynamics. The unexpected turn was that opening the account gave me visibility and power when both of those things felt particularly hard to come by. 

You’ve said TITCLOWN isn’t about OnlyFans, but that experience feeds into it. What threads from that time show up in the show?

I play with perception and sensuality in my show, which is relevant to OF for obvious reasons. I love playing in feminine energy. I also enjoy chaos. OnlyFans is sex work, and sex workers live on the fringes or even outside of what society considers to be acceptable. As do clowns, historically. The two almost go hand in hand. 

Your show pushes against the idea that the female body in performance must be either sexy or shameful. How did you land on toplessness as a tool for satire?

Haha. Me and my best friend flash each other randomly to make each other laugh. We’ve been doing it for years. I’ll ask her if she wants another glass of wine or whatever with a (single) tit out. It’s so stupid and playful. I didn’t think “right I’m going to turn this thing we do into a show”, but it must’ve been in the ether because it’s where I’ve landed. Also, we’ve commodified tits to be this symbol of sex and femininity. I have big boobs and have been objectified because of it since day dot. This is a way for me to reclaim my image and feel more in control. 

What was the biggest surprise - creatively or emotionally - that came from blending vulnerability with absurdity in your work?

That I didn’t have to go around the houses to get audiences on board with my shit. I first came to performance through stand up and was OBSESSED with how I might be perceived and how likeable I came across. But then I found clowning, and I stopped trying to curate myself to what I thought people would want from me, and that’s what has brought connection. When I’m on stage, it feels like pure freedom. 

Jessica Aszkenasy: TITCLOWN will be performed at 10.20pm in Assembly Roxy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival  from 30th July – 24th August (not 13th)

For tickets and more information, visit: https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/1036-jessica-aszkenasy-titclown