Bog Witch
★★★★☆ Electric
Traverse (Venue 15): Sun 2 – Sun 30 Aug 2026
Review by Hugh Simpson
Bog Witch by Bryony Kimmings at the Traverse (from Avalon and Tellus) is a tremendous piece of theatre full of apparent contrasts – personal and resonant, knowing and stupid, messy and tightly controlled.
It opens with writer, performer and co-director Kimmings embarking on what seems to be an unremarkable if funny stand-up routine, all about her ‘massive hole’ (in her soul, naturally) which might be filled by moving to the countryside and living a more eco-friendly lifestyle. She isn’t 100 per cent sure about taking her son to a derelict cottage in the wilderness (as much as 40 minutes from Brighton), but at least she’s involved with a ‘hot boy’. Plus she’s prepared, because she’s seen a documentary called The Wicker Man.
Bryony Kimmings in Bog Witch. Pic: Rosie Powell.
But then the production starts to change, becoming a complex and nuanced combination of comedy, theatre and performance art that has some deceptively profound things to say about environmental disaster, loss, community and much else besides. It’s still funny, but at times it’s worrying and terribly sad, and it’s all tremendously well performed and staged.
Kimmings and co-director Francesca Murray-Fuentes have a tight grip on proceedings, while Guy Hoare’s lighting, Tom Parkinson’s composition and Lewis Gibson’s sound are extremely effective
striking.
Will Duke’s projection design is notably sympathetic, and the animations of Raf Vartanian and Nathan Fernée are particularly impressive – how refreshing it is to see something that looks like it might actually have been thought up by a human being. The set and costumes of Tom Rogers also add a great deal. The evocation of the ‘soul hole’, mirrored by the bog next to the country cottage, is particularly striking.
Bryony Kimmings in Bog Witch. Pic: Rosie Powell.
There’s even some audience participation, which always has a different feel at Festival time. Instead of a couple of diffident volunteers, there’s a veritable forest of hands, many of them belong to people who are already performers or (what is much worse) people who believe they really should be. Kimmings handles this section (like everything else) with skill, although it does tend to lose some of the momentum and rhythm that the show has built up.
There’s no denying the overall impact, however, of a clever, deeply personal and fascinating piece of theatre.
Running time: One hour and 25 minutes (no interval).
Traverse (Traverse 1), 10 Cambridge St, EH1 2ED (Venue 15).
Sunday 2 – Sunday 30 August 2026.
Daily (not Mon): See website for details.
Tickets and details: Book here at EdFringe.com.
Tickets direct from venue: Book here.
Byony Kimmings website: www.bryonykimmings.com
Instagram: @bryonykimmings
BlueSky: @bryonykimmings
Traverse website: www.traverse.co.uk/
Facebook: @TraverseTheatre
Instagram: @traversetheatre
Linktree: @traversetheatre.
Bog Witch is on tour until October 1 2026.
Wed 9 Sept
BRADFORD St George’s Hall
BOOK NOW
Fri 11/Sat 12 Sept
LANCASTER: The Dukes
BOOK NOW
Tue 22 Sept
CARDIFF: The Sherman Theatre
BOOK NOW
Wed 30 Sept – Thu 1 Oct
LEEDS: Playhouse
BOOK NOW
Bryony Kimmings in Bog Witch. Pic: Rosie Powell.
ENDS
