 All The Boys I Blocked is a solo clown show from Chanel and the Circus, and few images capture the absurdity of relationship breakdowns better than the clown. When love collapses we often recognise with hindsight, how much we ignored or overlooked along the way. In those moments, we can’t help but feel like clowns: painted smiles concealing bruised egos, humour masking heartache. Clowning, with its unique mix of vulnerability and play, becomes the perfect form to explore this chaotic intersection of comedy and heartbreak.
Chanel is an engaging, magnetic performer, balancing whimsy with sincerity. Accordion in hand, she transforms the theatre into a kind of collective confessional, inviting her late-night audience to share their own stories of failed relationships and the cathartic act of pressing block. These anecdotes are then spun into bespoke songs, blending humour with heartbreak in a way that feels both deeply personal and joyfully communal. Drawing from her experiences working in the arts and relationships, Chanel also reflects on encounters with inappropriate behaviour and moments of exploitation, disrespect, and imbalance of power. She reframes these painful memories through music and clowning, exposing the way they strip away dignity and leave one feeling both like a literal and metaphorical clown. In doing so, she cleverly highlights how performance itself can reclaim agency. Visually, Chanel is striking. Her vibrant red hair, bold make up and bespoke costume embody the larger-than-life persona of the clown, even as she reveals the fragility beneath the surface. The show crescendos to a quietly devastating moment when the audience helps her remove her makeup. What begins as a simple act of wiping away paint becomes heavy with meaning - an unmasking that strips away not only the comic façade but also the armour she has used to survive toxic relationships. In that stillness, a palpable sadness fills the room: the recognition of what has been endured, what has been overlooked, and the vulnerability of standing bare before others. It is a collective moment that is tender and mournful, and it lingers long after the show. All The Boys I Blocked is not just a clown show about breakups—it is a celebration of survival, of reclaiming identity after exploitation, and of finding humour in heartbreak without trivialising it. Chanel’s gift lies in making her audience laugh while simultaneously holding up a mirror to the vulnerability and resilience at the core of all human relationships. Lee Hutchison 4/5 All The Boys I Blocked Venue: Thistle Theatre at Greenside @ Riddles Court Dates: August 22-23rd Time: 2300 Tickets: www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/all-the-boys-i-blocked |
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