Review: Rosa Garland: Primal Bog, Soho Theatre

Bright orange cagoules are handed to unsuspecting theatregoers on the front row. On stage lies some suspicious looking orange buckets, a ladder and some dirt. We are warned things might get messy. There is a sense of excitement lingering amongst the crowd mixed with a tinge of uncertainty for what exactly is about to unfold.

Rosa Garland enters the stage, fully naked, as a Northern Gwyneth Paltrow, donned in an orange wig. She tries to promote her new product ‘gloop’ and gives a product demonstration that is both hilarious and disgusting. She takes questions from the audience, delivering back funny one liners. Garland pulls her audience in with an awkward comedy style; a pained grimace, a blunt retort and an absurd action.

Utilising her body, video projections and a variety of props, Garland considers desire and kink in a way that pushes boundaries. Primal Bog takes us into the psyche and the taboo to unlock unconventional desire through a queer frame. Director Posey Mehta helps steer the performer into giving us her all, and a lack of a clear narrative presents no problem, with a delightful fever dream-esque show created that is difficult to describe but which leaves one experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions. You’ll grin, wince and laugh out loud. You’ll find yourself both disgusted and beguiled, even if you’re not too sure what is going on. You can’t help but be in awe of Garland’s ability to command an audience, bounce off their energy and witness things you’ve never seen before on a theatre stage.

Playing into taboo, abjection and the grotesque, Garland does not hold back but throws herself head first (quite literally) into bizarre scenes that explore sexuality, gender, desire and queerness. She uses shock factor in a positive and meaningful way, not merely as a means of disgusting audiences but to destabilise norms and open up a provocative discourse around unconventional desire. Intersecting between performance art and theatre, she crosses boundaries one could not think possible for the theatre stage. Garland echoes visual artist Carolee Schneemann mixed with a modern day clown. She gives a massive middle finger to patriarchy, the male gaze and sexualised female bodies in a refreshingly unaesthetic and messy way.

I had the pleasure of catching this as a work in progress at the start of last year and not only has the show now found its feet in its fully fleshed form but Garland succeeds tremendously in captivating an audience in a shocking, hilarious and wonderful way. It is not for the faint of heart, but rather for those who can join her in revelling in the weird, the erotic and the filthy. However, giving away the contents of the show would simply ruin it for a viewer, it’s best to go in blind and let Garland take you on the wild journey that is Primal Bog.

Written by Rosa Garland
Directed by Posey Mehta

Primal Bog plays at Soho Theatre until: Saturday 7 March.