10th-15th August, Big at theSpaceTriplex, Edinburgh

A stage duo of performers created by Patrycja Kowańska and Dominika Knapik. On a daily basis working as directors, choreographers, and dramaturgs, in the “Very” trilogy they place themselves at the center of events. They play with theatrical conventions, high art, and the everyday life of freelancers. Using humor, and self-irony, they explore themes of corporeality, transience, and the economics of art, among others. Their trilogy includes the following performances:

VERY_FUNNY, where they embody Shakespearean fools, confronting their bodies and professional roles with the figure of the artist-genius. They expose stereotypes, speaking about their own ambitions, insecurities, and creative work.

Playing at Edinburgh Fringe 10-13 August 2026: Tickets: Very Funny | Edinburgh Festival Fringe

VERY_SAD, an auto-ironic performance focused on aging bodies and psychophysical exhaustion. A form of “sit-up” (stand-up already hurts). A musical trifle about illness, shame, and transience. Very sad, and therefore very funny.

Playing at Edinburgh Fringe 11-14 August 2026: Tickets: Very Sad | Edinburgh Festival Fringe

VERY_CHEAP, a cabaret-philosophical story about capitalism and the (valuation) of art. Fat and Dumb compare making art to sex work, examining what authenticity and desire are within a system that turns everything into a commodity.

Playing at Edinburgh Fringe 12-15 August 2026: Tickets: Very Cheap | Edinburgh Festival Fringe

About Fat and Dumb and the “Very” Trilogy

A duo formed by Patrycja Kowańska (FAT) and Dominika Knapik (DUMB). Patrycja Kowańska, is a dramaturg, writer, and performer. Her portfolio includes original theatrical works as well as numerous collaborations with artists across disciplines. Dominika Knapik is a highly acclaimed choreographer, director, and performer. She graduated from the Acting Department of the same Academy and was nominated for the POLITYKA Passport Award in 2015 for her choreography in dramatic theatre. The artists established a close collaboration several years ago, creating performances both for institutional theatres and the independent scene. As a duo, they took their collaboration a step further by appearing together on stage. For the trilogy developed since 2023—Very Funny, Very Sad, and Very Cheap—they coined the term “performative epigram”, a short-form hybrid performance concept combining elements of stand-up comedy, living tableaux, rap and sung fragments, unconventional choreography, and the live sharing of their laptop screens documenting the creative process. Their stage presence draws inspiration from Shakespearean fools –  reimagined as female jests. They explore the body, engage in dialogues with cultural texts, and reflect on the absurdities of institutional theatre life. They also perform their own privacy, which in their work is always political.

In the Very Trilogy, Fat and Dumb construct a tragicomic, bold, and taboo-free narrative about the friendship of two freelance artists navigating the precarious theatre market. As independent freelancers, they operate in a constant pursuit of grants and subsidies, approaching the search for success with irony. Their stage presence draws inspiration from Shakespearean fools—reimagined here as female fools. Through this figure, the artists perform their own privacy, which in their work is always political. They explore the body, engage in non-obvious dialogues with cultural texts, and reflect on the absurdities of institutional theatre life.

They are also deeply engaged with socially oriented work. As Fat and Dumb, they created Penthesilea. Reconstruction of the Body of the Amazons (2023), inviting onto the stage women with lived experience of breast cancer. Fat and Dumb received several awards, including the Grand Prize and Journalists’ Prize of the Shakespeare OFF Competition at the 27th Gdańsk and II Award at the OFF Actor’s Song Review in Wrocław. Their productions Very Funny, Very Sad, and Very Cheap were presented at leading Polish festivals, including Boska Komedia, Warsaw Theatre Meetings, the Retroperspectives Festival in Łódź, QueerFest, and Open’er Festival in Gdynia. In 2024, the duo was nominated for the POLITYKA Passports.

Committed to Fat and Dumb’s independent artistic practice, Kowańska and Knapik jointly established the Kreatura Foundation and launched the podcast “Fat and Dumb ON AIR”, available on Spotify and YouTube.  

Read more about Fat and Dumb here: www.grubaiglupia.com

Youtube Account

https://www.youtube.com/@Gruba_i_G%C5%82upia

Podcast TEASER 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b8cO10xDGU

PODCAST ON SPOTIFY

https://open.spotify.com/show/19C2rxAFv9b3pee51mddyZ?si=ab60d0bbbf35450e