Gaulier-trained American clown Zoe Wohlfeld (‘A Night of Drama’, London Clown Festival) will be appearing at the London Clown Festival before making her Edinburgh Fringe solo debut with DOG FUNERAL.
Zoe is holding a funeral for her childhood dog. Dressed in Victorian mourning garb and ready to cry on command (via water pistol), she’s here to teach you how to properly perform your grief. All she wants is your sympathy, your tears, and a goddamn glass of Pinot Grigio (please!).
DOG FUNERAL explores what it’s like to watch someone mourn: how they behave, how they might treat others, and what happens when they’re in the midst of grappling with comprehending loss and the existential dread that comes with it.
The show includes audience participation, with Zoe's descent into grief stricken madness determining how far her audience will let her go. Absurd at its core, DOG FUNERAL uses dark comedy to explore grief laid bare but it also mocks the emotional grandeur and sentimentality that are commonplace in theatre productions that deal with heavy subject matter.
DOG FUNERAL is an ode to loss, dogs, and the loss of dogs. It’s an ode to that lady screaming in the Sainsbury’s because her father just died, she forgot her ID, and the teenager behind the register won’t let her buy a bottle of Pinot Grigio. Above all, it’s an ode to forgiveness, of ourselves and of others, because we all will be that lady in Sainsbury’s one day.
Zoe Wohlfeld is an American clown and theatre maker with a background in classical theatre. From 2015 to 2020, Zoe worked in American regional theatre (Olney Theatre Center, Shakespeare & Company), then moved to France in 2022 to study at École Philippe Gaulier. After earning her certificate, Zoe moved to London and began producing original work with her partner, Jack Grossman. Together, they created the live-directed melodrama/clown show ‘A Night of Drama’, which has run for the past three years to sold-out rooms with up to 130 seats in the US and UK. The show has been presented at Soho Theatre in London with the London Clown Festival, at Underbelly Cowgate for Edinburgh Fringe 2025, and with Liebenspiel’s Weekend of Weird at Brighton Fringe.
Co-written and directed by Jack Grossman, DOG FUNERAL is Zoe’s debut solo show. Zoe’s own experience of grief has informed the show, and she says: “I had a really hard time processing grief, dealing with the admin, the existential dread, and I became a huge bitch to everyone. I felt entitled because I was going through so much. And I put that in the show!”
So far, DOG FUNERAL has had work-in-progress performances in London, Ventnor Fringe, New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Providence, Boston, The Hudson Valley (NY), and The Berskhires (MA), and has more upcoming shows in New York as well as London Clown Festival at Soho Theatre in June. It features original music by Laila Woozeer.
Full Listing:
Title: Zoe Wohlfeld: DOG FUNERAL
Show keywords: Pets | Human and pet grief | Funerals | Forgiveness
LONDON
London Clown Festival
Venue: Soho Theatre
Date & Time: Saturday 6th, June @ 8.30pm
Age: 16+
Duration: 60 minutes
EDINBURGH
Venue: Underbelly, Cowgate (Jelly Belly - formerly Delhi Belly) (61)
Dates & Time: 5th - 30th August (except 17th) @ 5.25pm
Age: 16+
Duration: 60 minutes
Picture by Marissa Moorhead
