Rosa Garland: Primal Bog Comes to Soho Theatre, London

After an acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe 2025 run, Rosa Garland (Trash Salad, The Kink Shame Show) brings Primal Bog to Soho Theatre from the 25^th February to 7^th March. A clown/live art mash-up that joyfully plunges into erotic desire in its ugliest, stickiest, and most liberating forms, join Rosa as she plunges headfirst into the muck of sexuality, slime, and unfiltered desire that’s been hailed as “filthy and fearless” (The Telegraph) and “a masterclass in comedy” (Metro).

In the metaphorical Bog - a swampy zone of our psyche thick with shame, taboo, and irresistible allure - audiences meet PB, a clownish, nakedly confident adventurer who is unafraid of slime, worms, mess, or psychological taboos. Through lip syncs, storytelling, lesbian slime wrestling, live tattooing, and delightful cameos from Sean Bean, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Rosa’s own asshole, Primal Bog embarks on a playful and rebellious journey into desires too often hidden.

Inspired by Rosa’s personal journey through psychosexual therapy and queer intimacy, Primal Bog dares to reject commodified self-care and corporate-friendly queer liberation. Expect an unapologetically grotesque experience: bright orange slime, real worms, bodily fluids, and a defiant celebration of bodies unburdened by the male gaze.

Rosa Garland says: “Finding your pleasure isn’t always clean or aesthetically pleasing, especially when you’ve grown up queer and closeted. I want audiences to dive into the strangest and most liberating ride of their lives - to embrace curiosity, tenderness, playfulness, and even flippancy with our bodies rather than constantly ‘preserving the merchandise.’ Edinburgh Fringe 2025 was an incredible experience and I can’t wait to bring Primal Bog to Soho Theatre and see how it thrives in a new space.”

Previous shows by Rosa Garland have earned critical acclaim and sell-out runs at Soho Theatre, VAULT Festival, and Edinburgh Fringe, with Trash Salad named among the Telegraph’s best comedy shows at Fringe 2022 and 2023. Alongside solo clown work, Rosa is a founding member of Poltergeist theatre company (www.poltergeisttheatre.com), who make heartfelt, thoughtful, unabashedly fun and unashamedly nerdy shows and experiences. Poltergeist won the Samuel French New Play Award 2018 and Untapped Award 2019, with two sell-out Edinburgh Fringe runs, and most recently completed a second run of their critically acclaimed adaptation of Alice in Wonderland at Brixton House (★★★★★ - The Stage). Other recent credits include workshopping ‘Scenes from a Repatriation’ at the Royal Court, and a role in BAFTA-nominated short film ‘Quiet Life’ for BBC iPlayer. 

Primal Bog invites everyone to confront and embrace the joyful weirdness and shared vulnerability within our own inner bogs.

Instagram - Rosa Garland

Primal Bog runs at Soho Theatre Upstairs, London, 25^th February – 7^th March 2026. More information can be found at: https://sohotheatre.com/events/rosa-garland-primal-bog/