Macabre, poetic one-woman show explores grief, obsession, and love through an unlikely romance.Summary
Rating
Excellent!
Itchy Feet Theatre’s macabre marshland love story uncovers one woman’s fatal attraction to the Lindow Man’s ‘Bog Body’. Writer Jen Tucker unearths a twisted tale of fragmented love, presenting two battered souls with “more to life than the tangible”.
Tucker’s inspiration derives from the 1984 discovery of the preserved first-century ‘Lindow Man’ in a Cheshire peat bog. A modern-day romance is constructed around him as the infatuated Petra (Maddie White) purloins his remains from the British Museum and proceeds to fall in love with and ‘marry’ him.
The newly reopened Arches Lane (formerly Turbine) theatre hosts an audience of captivated wedding guests who crane their necks to watch the crackling bride-to-be pace the auditorium’s aisle. Pre-nuptial jitters conceal a darker mental conflict as Petra battles with the interruptive voices of therapists and relatives, protesting she is “not ready for that part yet”. Though Petra lacks control over her unique narrative, White commands the stage with a nuanced, ethereal performance grounded in raw emotion. As Petra professes, one cannot “control who or what your heart beats for.” Her fascination with Lindow Man’s brutal death is unpacked while we learn of the unresolved trauma surrounding her sister’s demise.
Tucker’s weaving of several philosophical and psychological threads ensures an eye-opening 45-minute one-woman show. Wisely, she does not attempt to tie all of these threads together, instead leaving her wedding party with a shocking conclusion.
Bog Body’s ritualistic heart combines both Roman and Gothic traditions, providing a ‘Bride of Frankenstein’ for the 21st century. Beth Scott’s cool tone lighting design amplifies the luminous white bridal dress against a claustrophobic black-box enclosure. The sound design is similarly stark, as Tucker does not shy away from moments of prolonged silence. Though appropriate for an introspective show such as this, a sinister murmuring soundscape could aid scene transitions and build tension. A rousing pagan wedding march might add further atmosphere to this eerie union as the freeze-dried remains of Petra’s groom-to-be are paraded through the audience.
This play will itself return to this year’s Edinburgh Fringe with a run that promises to be popular with fans of gothic romantic drama. A stronger visual aesthetic may yet be brought to light, but having been so dramatically resurrected, Bog Body will live on to intrigue many future audiences.
Written & Directed by Jen Tucker
Lighting Design by Beth Scott
Produced by Itchy Feet Theatre
Bog Body has finished its run at Arches Lane, but returns at The Edinburgh Festival
