Search

Saved articles

You have not yet added any article to your bookmarks!

Browse articles

GDPR Compliance

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service.

Rosa Garland: Primal Bog

 
Isabella Thompson Review by Isabella Thompson 4 Published: 9 Aug 2025 Assembly Roxy Show Dates: 30 Jul 2025-24 Aug 2025

Primal Bog might just be the most subversive show of the Fringe.

Garland dismantles every preconception of femininity, blasting through taboo after taboo with joyful abandon.

The show begins with Rosa Garland stepping onto the stage fully naked and weeing into a cup. Before you’ve even processed that, they’re pouring orange slime onto themselves, slapping it across their skin. In a native Yorkshire accent, they introduce themselves as Gwyneth Paltrow, pushing her ‘Goop’ product to the audience.

Directed by Posey Mehta, the show is a masterclass in absurd juxtaposition: after an extended bout of writhing in goo, Garland will make a statement that will have you in stitches. When they announce they don’t know where they are or how they got here, the show unlocks into pure chaos. They flirt with worms, perform dream analysis, play unhinged videos on a projector, get a tattoo on stage, and dump yet more goo over themselves. It’s gender-queer, gleefully grotesque, and utterly uninterested in fitting into a tidy box. And yet, despite the filth, slime, and anarchy, there’s an internal logic to follow. This isn’t random shock; it’s an artistic rebellion with teeth, raising a middle finger to rules.

Garland dismantles every preconception of femininity, blasting through taboo after taboo with joyful abandon. It’s a celebration of weird, an ode to chaos, and an invitation for us to get as gloriously messy as they are, before rising like a phoenix from the ashes of “normal.” You laugh, you wince, you think—sometimes all at once. Does any of this make rational sense? No. But it does in your gut.

If there’s a flaw, it’s in the pacing: occasional lulls in momentum leave you momentarily adrift. But perhaps that’s part of the point—disorientation as liberation. Either way, Primal Bog is a sensory riot, a taboo-shattering revolution that leaves you baffled and strangely elated.

Related to this article:

Location:

Performances

The Blurb:

The gorgeously gross new piece from Rosa Garland, the creator of Trash Salad, one of The Telegraph's Funniest Shows of the Fringe. Join Rosa on a slimy trek into the recesses of our erotic imaginations, celebrating pleasure in its ugliest forms, and the hard work of accessing desire. Like Jackass if Johnny Knoxville was Gwyneth Paltrow, this new comedy experiment will stop at nothing to investigate the mucky mind-corners we prefer to ignore. Come into the bog; the mud's just fine. 'A force of nature' (TheWeeReview.com). 'A knock out... riotously funny' (BingeFringe.com).