NYC Award-Winner Julia VanderVeen Brings “Feral” Bouffon Comedy DENTATA to Brighton Fringe
Award-winning actor and clown Julia VanderVeen brings her most ambitious work to date, DENTATA, to The Actors Theatre on May 19th and 20th as part of the 2026 Brighton Fringe Festival.
Fresh from a decade in New York City and now based in Amsterdam, VanderVeen’s latest solo show is a 60-minute tour de force that weaponizes the grotesque mockery of the Bouffon style. The performance interrogates how women have been misunderstood, belittled, and underestimated throughout history—featuring characters ranging from a misunderstood teenage Medusa to the Three Weird Sisters from Macbeth.
“I wanted to take the most misunderstood archetypes of women—the witch, the monster, the anatomy itself—and reclaim them through the lens of bouffon,” says VanderVeen. “DENTATA is about the power of being ‘too much’ and finding a riotous, visceral joy in that ferocity.”
Directed by Jess Lazar (Hulu, Funny or Die) and co-birthed by SITI Company’s Lucy Smith, DENTATA blends rigorous physical discipline with an anarchic, clownish bite. It is “suitcase theatre” at its most explosive: a technically lean, unapologetically interactive hour that forces the audience to consider why society remains so averse to women speaking out.
Julia VanderVeen is an award-winning actor and clown (Best Solo Show Orlando, Best Clown Show NYC) whose work has been featured in The New York Times and The Scotsman. A graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University with training from the British American Dramatic Academy, she apprenticed under Christopher Bayes (Yale University). Her debut show, My Grandmother’s Eyepatch, was a breakout hit at the Edinburgh Fringe. She currently lives and works in Amsterdam.
Here is the show trailer: https://youtu.be/-IwgGaeAJms?si=umkHe1uCWzxCw-az
★★★★★ “The funniest show about grief I’ve ever seen.” – Bouquets and Brickbats, Edinburgh Fringe
“A rich expression of female ferocity: joyful, thoughtful, memorable and brave… a terrific physical comedian.” – Broad Street Review
Booking info
Venue: The Actors Theatre, 4 Prince’s St, Kemptown, Brighton (BN2 1RD)
Dates: May 19th & 20th | Time: 21:00 (60 mins)
Tickets: From £10 | http://brightonfringe.org/events/dentata/
Age: 18+ | Media Assets: Press Photos, Trailer
