Oli Fuller
Bringing the art of clown to the art of, well, art, The Van Gogh Shogh is a stupid, silly, chaotic delight.
The Van Gogh Shogh brings the audience into the Van Gogh Immersive experience, with the scent of paint filling the room, and invites us to a night of culture, that is, before Uber Eats driver, Van Gogh, arrives and discovers the true success of the world he created in poverty. Van Gogh takes over the experience, teaching true art to the audience and fighting to get back his own legacy, it is an utterly joyous experience.
Van Gogh, played by Donna Oblongata, is represented with such love, while still being jam packed with sheer tomfoolery. This show clearly comes from a place of admiration and appreciation for the work of Van Gogh, and is a beautiful celebration of his work. The show also does an incredible job with its subtle nods to the hypocrisy of the art industry, with Van Gogh being destitute, depressed, and constantly asking the audience for real money, while we as the audience celebrate his work as the height of class.
Four audience members are tasked to recreate Van Gogh’s masterpiece, the starry night, in his all new art class he is hosting, and I was lucky enough to be one of these volunteers. To be up close and immersed with such talent was utterly beautiful, and getting to enjoy such a thing while being able to paint and create was honestly a dream come true. I never want to see a show that doesn’t let me paint throughout again. I left with my clothes absolutely covered in paint, despite being given a bib and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The Van Gogh Shogh is clowning perfection, chaos incarnate, the deep rooted smell of acrylic paint, the feeling of dried paint on your hands, and everything in between. To give this show anything less than 5 stars would be an insult to art itself. This show is truly, utterly, brilliant, and creates something out of Van Gogh’s legacy that he would be proud to witness. Donna Oblongata’s performance makes you feel warm and safe and free to be yourself, their performance breaks the rules assumed of them in a theatre space and invites you to do the same. This show is everything I could have wanted and more.
The Van Gogh Shogh should be required viewing for any artist or clown, it is a work of art on par with Van Gogh himself.
Recommended Drink: A can of beer with flicks of paint around the rim.
Performances of The Van Gogh Shogh have now concluded at EdFringe 2026.
Eve Miller
