No Narrative, No Apologies: Performer Jessica Aszkenasy Is Redefining the Female Clown

Clowning, sex work, and pseudo-philosophy don’t usually share a stage, but in TITCLOWN, they do. Jessica Aszkenasy’s debut solo show (premiering at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer) is part surreal satire, part visual provocation, and all clown chaos, performed (mostly) topless and without apology. Drawing from her training at the infamous Gaulier clown school and her time spent creating content on OnlyFans, the show explores how gender, art, and agency collide in performance. With absurdity, intellect, and a Victoria’s Secret wingspan, TITCLOWN reclaims the stage - one disarming flash of femininity at a time. We spoke to Jessica to get the lowdown on the show, and what audiences can expect when she takes to the stage.

TITCLOWN explores who gets to be seen and who controls the gaze - how did your time on OnlyFans sharpen that focus?

On my OnlyFans account I’m 100% in control of the content I put out. I’m also completely in control of how much, or rather how little, I filter my image. I don’t wear make-up, I let my cellulite hang out. I only shave my legs. I make it up as I go along. On stage I’m the same, with added theatrical antics. OnlyFans gave me the confidence to get up on stage half naked and truly give no fucks. It gave me the confidence to “fuck around and find out” in the best way.

You’ve said your show isn’t “about” OnlyFans, but it’s undeniably shaped by it. What artistic questions did that experience raise for you?

I do still conform to the male gaze in many ways. I come out wearing a Baywatch-style swimsuit. I have long brown hair and big boobs. One of the questions I asked myself while making this show is how much do I enjoy appeasing that gaze? How much do I enjoy subverting it? How do I find a way to exist authentically within that paradigm (lol, really letting myself run with pseudo-philosophical ponderings here)? Online I’m looking for a way to sell content without sacrificing myself to the Kim Kardashian glam/y2k skinny machine. On stage I think I’m doing something similar with how I choose to present.

Clowning is often associated with physicality and chaos, but your show is also deeply cerebral. How do you see those two sides working together?

The show doesn’t have a narrative. I don’t ever want to explain the thing. I want to show it. That's why I love clown. On the surface, it looks like pure chaos. But for people to see a woman present herself on stage that way and be vulnerable without reaching for her trauma (which there seems to be a real appetite for) is a statement in itself, I think. I do use symbols of femininity (the swimsuit, the Victoria’s Secret angel wings) but I don’t ever comment on them. I guess the whole time I’m trying to use my boobs (lol) in a way that is disarming and stupid rather than sexy. I’m trying to showcase the impossibility of being a woman and find the fun in that. 

Did Gaulier’s teaching model prepare you to subvert form - or push you into doing so?

Gaulier’s teaching model really helped me push me out of my comfort zone. The school’s ethos is basically always “go bigger”. Which I love. But I was also deeply frustrated at seeing certain demographics being dealt quite a generous hand, and others having to work much harder for stage time if they were say, over the age of 25 and not a size 8 (I’ll let you guess which demographics I might be referring to here). My show is definitely a reaction to my time there. In a way his method of letting the student find their own way did work because I’m stood here with a show now, but it’s not entirely that simple.

You play a character who is powerful, withholding, and occasionally disdainful. Why was that the persona you wanted to lead this show?

Honestly? Because it’s fun. And it’s quite far away from who I am in real life (I hope, haha!). In real life I feel like I’m fairly measured and am quite uncomfortable taking up space in social settings. I really get to play sides of me I feel like I have to hold a tight grip on in day-to-day life. I can do away with all of that and it makes people laugh. What an amazing trip.

What’s the most radical thing a clown can do on stage today?

Let them see your ugly - your true ugly, not what you are comfortable with your ugly looking like.

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

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