TITCLOWN: daddy’s little girl – Summerhall ★★★

Some shows are difficult to review because the performance in the room is not quite the performance that was intended. Unfortunately, audience disruption significantly affected the opening of TITCLOWN: daddy’s little girl, breaking the fragile compact that clowning relies upon. Clown is perhaps the most responsive of theatrical forms, constantly negotiating with the audience in real time, and regaining momentum after interruptions is no easy task. Even allowing for that, however, Jessica Aszkenasy’s latest creation reveals itself as an ambitious and often fascinating piece of work, albeit one that never entirely resolves the influences pulling it in different directions. At the centre of the show sits Daddy, a faceless dummy in a suit, around whom Aszkenasy constructs a sprawling exploration of love, power, desire and the strange bargains women are expected to make in pursuit of affection. Through video, projection, clowning, audience interaction and increasingly confrontational…