Sometimes a comedy critic’s job is easy. You laugh so it must be a good show. I remember one critic who based their star ratings entirely on the number of times they laughed during a set. He kept ticking his notepad every time he was tickled. And then there are shows such as Jessica Aszkenasy’s Titclown that leave you scratching your head and asking yourself what did I just see?
When you walk into the room Aszkenasy is crouched on a platform in a red Baywatch-style swimsuit. Eventually she comes down and starts jiggling her boobs stage front, getting closer all the time. Eventually the front row takes the hint and starts jiggling back. A bit like impressionists used to do when they impersonated PM Edward Heath in the 1970s.
But enough about politics. For now, anyway. Aszkenasy is confident and politely confrontational. Nobody is safe, not even in the back row. Audience members - men on this occasion, I don’t know if that’s always the case but it probably is – are invited up to put high heeled shoes on her, Cinderella-style. Oh, did I mention that the performance is mostly silent with requests conducted via mime except for some French?
Just when you are starting to relax Aszkenasy takes out her breasts. On the night I was in she nearly had the eye out of one of the shoe-fitters, though I don’t know if that was intentional. It's not always clear whether she wants to make the men watching feel awkward or not. It definitely feels like a comment on the male gaze. There is little titillation in the nudity, though one audience member at the rear had to be chastised for taking pictures.
There is painting of breasts. The audience is encouraged to join in - painting her breasts, not their own. A large plastic sheet comes out and the word ART is written on it before Aszkenasy proceeds to cover herself in a lot of paint. I should imagine some people pay lots of money to see this sort of thing on OnlyFans.
It certainly feels very political. A feminist act of defiance with Aszkenasy very much in control. It made me think of some of the work by Marina Abramovic. It didn’t really make me think of any other comedians though. There was giggling but it was never quite as funny as it could have been. There wouldn’t have been many ticks in my colleague’s notes.
At the end Aszkenasy, who is Gaulier-trained makes a speech and says that it isn’t art or intellectual at all. It is just her and her breasts. But is this a serious case of double bluff? Her press release certainly suggests so, calling it a “raw interrogation of art, power and performance.”
Sometimes intense, sometimes frivolous, Titclown is certainly challenging and provocative at times, but it annoyingly straddles two very opposing ideas, the cerebral and the silly. The result is a divisive performance that merits either one star or five. The fairest option is to add them together and divide them by two.
Until August 24. Tickets and info here.
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