TOMMY COOPER'S FEZ

Tommy Cooper's Fez

British writer and performer Dana Gartland brings the world premiere of “Tommy Cooper’s Fez." to the Hollywood Fringe Festival. A fast-paced, darkly comic solo show exploring the father-daughter bond, legacy, and the strange, slippery power of words.

Her work lives at the intersection of humor and emotional truth – where laughter and grief sit in the same room and neither gets to leave early.

Blending sharp humor with emotionally raw storytelling, Gartland takes audiences on a rollercoaster of laughter, grief, and catharsis. The show centers on her experience losing her father to cancer, reflecting on an unconventional childhood shaped by early exposure to commerce, stolen goods, and men’s brown socks (size 6½–12) And how that upbringing informed her understanding of grief. Equal parts surreal, poignant, and absurd, the piece captures what it means to grow up in a world that felt like a bad sitcom some days and a great one on others.

Dana Gartland’s work is defined by an irreverent but deeply human perspective, resisting tidy narratives about loss in favor of something more complicated, honest, and alive. It holds space for contradiction, humor, and heartbreak to coexist.

“I didn’t want to make something sentimental – I wanted to make something true,” says Gartland. “Losing Dad was strange, devastating and, at times, devastatingly funny. This show is about holding all of that at once – the love, the chaos, and the moments you catch yourself laughing at the absurdity of it all.”

“Tommy Cooper’s Fez" will run for a limited engagement beginning June 5 at The Hudson Theater (GUILD) as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

Tickets: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/search?mode=all_events&search_terms=tommy%20coopers%20fez
Performance Dates: June 5th 7:15pm, June 18th 8:30pm, June 26th 8:45pm & June 27th 5:15pm
Venue: Hudson Guild Theater, Los Angeles
Press Contact: [email protected]

About Dana Gartland
Dana Gartland is a British writer and performer currently based in Los Angeles. She trained as an actor at Rose Bruford drama school in London. Her theater work includes productions for Shakespeare’s Globe in London and several world tours. Musical UK tours as a dancer and actor as well as time spent on the London stand up circuit. Dana was also a regular on the New York Stand up scene and performed in several Off Broadway productions. Her work blends sharp wit with emotional honesty, drawing on deeply personal experiences to explore memory, identity, and resilience. And wherever possible, laughter.