Badgers
★★★☆☆ Complicated
Traverse (Venue 15): Thurs 6 – Sun 30 Aug 2026
Review by Hugh Simpson
Badgers at the Traverse is a carefully constructed piece whose use of different media does not always support a strong central core.
From Theatre Royal Plymouth in association with Bristol Old Vic, the play is written by and features Malaika Kegode as the play’s central character, a storyteller. She draws the audience expertly into a tale of a mysterious disappearance, a magical folk song and a frustrated podcaster who is unable to live up to the example of her celebrated journalist mother. And mysterious badgers (as well as more than one character named after badgers).
Badgers by Malaika Kegode (image by Paul Blakemore
Rebecca Wood’s monochromatic set design, Christopher Harrisson’s video, Jack Drewry’s sound and the lighting of Mike Gunning and Natalie Chan provide a platform for a production that flits from the ethics of true-crime podcasting to full-on folk horror. The direction of Jenny Davies, and Kegode’s intelligent, generous performance help these elements come together with considerable elegance.
Music composition from Jakabol (Joe Williams, Luke Saxton, Marietta Kirkbride and Owen Gatley) is complemented by the live music of Williams and Beth Roberts. While the live music is striking, the recorded elements are not always so effective.
The recorded voices (including Mary Woodvine, familiar to those who know the films of Mark Jenkin) are beautifully presented but when used at length have a distancing quality. This brings us away from the atmosphere the storytelling has so expertly created. The story also begins with the disappearance of a musician whose ‘folk’ songs are more accurately characterised elsewhere in the script as ‘sad boy indie’.
a song with magic powers,
Furthermore, if you’re going to have a plot revolving around a song with magic powers, you’re always going to come across the problem of how to present it. The actual song is advisedly only sparingly used, but doesn’t necessarily come across as magical.
There’s a bigger problem with the show’s whole presentation. The increasing use of cinema-style jump scares in theatre, with sudden loud noises and abrupt lighting changes, apparently works much better on most people than it does on me, so I’m probably not the best judge.
Badgers by Malaika Kegode Pic: Paul Blakemore.
However, it is certainly noticeable that the atmosphere created by Kegode’s tone, manner and careful use of gesture is dissipated rather than enhanced by such effects, and the inescapable feeling is that theatrically it would have had more power without most of the bells and whistles.
For there is a great deal of power in much of what is presented here. It is strongest, however, when it sticks to the things that only live theatre can do, providing intimacy, inclusion and a connection with the audience. It is correspondingly weaker when it seeks to imitate what other art forms do better.
Running time: One hour and 20 minutes (no interval).
Traverse (Traverse 2), 10 Cambridge St, EH1 2ED (Venue 15).
Thursday 6 – Sunday 30 August 2026.
Mon – Sun: See website for details.
Tickets and details: Book here at EdFringe.com.
Tickets direct from venue: Book here.
Traverse website: www.traverse.co.uk/
Facebook: @TraverseTheatre
Instagram: @traversetheatre
Linktree: @traversetheatre.
ENDS
