“As a fat person, I never thought of myself as “sexy.” Society never allowed me to. It just wasn’t in my cards. So I got funny.” – Cheyenne Rouleau

A mixture of stand up, storytelling, and fact-blasting, Fat Joke is a one person show which dissects the past, present, and future of fatphobia from both personal experience and researched data.

THINK: Nanette by Hannah Gadsby meets Inside by Bo Burnham

Fatphobia is a highly underrepresented, un-talked about subject today. Sure, we all know it’s not nice to make fun of a person for their weight, but have you ever thought about why? And have you ever thought about how the reasons you are listing in your brain right now as are probably problematic, demeaning, and based in untruths?

Fat Joke by its nature is a very confronting show. Its content ranges from media misrepresentation to diet culture, from mental health to eating disorders, from medical bias to white supremacy, ableism, and income-disparity. It’s basically a bunch of stuff people don’t feel comfortable talking about, all weaved into a comedy show. It loops in the perspectives of many different people and gathers many unseen perspectives, truths, and narratives and delivers them in a unique and exciting way. It is as educational as it is fun.

Fat Joke is currently in its first stage of development, working toward a premiere in early 2024.

Playwright: Cheyenne Rouleau

Dramaturge: Jiv Parasram

Created with support from the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival