FIRST SOLO SHOW IN HALF A DECADE
Critical praise for previous work
“an exhilarating ride via pop video, horror movie, art installation and therapy session… an extraordinary piece of theatre… Kimmings is an artist of exceptional integrity, compassion, imagination and guts” ★★★★★
Miriam Gillinson, The Guardian
“Her extraordinary new show raises the bar considerably; it’s the best thing she’s ever done… Kimmings is the greatest show-woman in town” ★★★★★
Andrew Eaton-Lewis, The Scotsman
★★★★★ Evening Standard, Independent, Time Out, The Herald, The Stage
28th May – Playwright, performer, documentary-maker and screenwriter Bryony Kimmings (I’m a Phoenix, Bitch, Last Christmas, Channel 4’s The Sex Clinic, BBC Four’s Opera Mums) returns to the stage with Bog Witch —her first solo show in half a decade. Commissioned to celebrate the launch of Soho Theatre Walthamstow, the production runs from 9–25 October as part of the venue’s inaugural season.
Bog Witch is a show about uncertain times, ecosystem collapse and finding new ways to be happy. Bryony had enough to worry about; mental illness, a sick kid, single motherhood, bills coming out of her ears… she didn’t have time to worry about the planet. She had her coping mechanisms down pat —spending, doing, achieving to fill the void. But she began to wonder if those were the things that were making her unhappy. As with all her previous autobiographical shows Bog Witch follows a part of Kimmings’ real life story… this time the journey of uprooting her and her son’s life to live in a tumbledown cottage in the wilderness… to plug back into nature as a last ditch attempt to be happy again.
Bryony Kimmings said: “Bog Witch is about being the least likely eco-convert. The last person to let go of their capitalist trappings. It explores what happens when ordering things online, drinking from plastic coffee cups, and stuffing my face with Deliveroo no longer brings happiness. Beneath all the bought stuff and façade; the endless distraction and dopamine, we find we are sad animals. Animals who have been disconnected from our ecosystems for too long. This is the story not of dropping out… but of plugging back in, and one that changed absolutely everything.”
Steve Lock, Soho Theatre Head of Comedy, said: “Specially commissioned for the launch season of Soho Theatre Walthamstow, Bog Witch is our latest collaboration with Bryony. In the 15 years we have worked together she has created some of the most memorable shows to have played on our stages – from Sex Idiot and Seven Day Drunk to Credible Likeable Superstar Role Model and Fake it ‘til You Make It – and we can’t wait to see what comes next.”
Kimmings is inspired by female stories, social taboos, and dismantling power structures. In 2021 she made a public vow to only work on things that would help the planet at this time of climate crisis and eco-system collapse. Her latest screen-writing project is The Rapture, an upcoming psychological eco-thriller series for BBC One, starring Ruth Madeley, and based on the bestselling novel of the same name. She is also writing a feature with Climate Spring, Little Red Hen, a comedy eco-horror with folkloric elements.
On-stage, Kimmings has toured internationally with her acclaimed shows – all drawn from real events in her life -performing everywhere from the National Theatre to the Sydney Opera House. Her work as a writer and performer includes Sex Idiot, a tour through Bryony’s true-life sexual misadventures and self-realisations; 7 Day Drunk, a 7 day alcohol experiment, inspired by the historical links between artists and mind enhancing drugs; Credible Likeable Superstar Role Model, made with her nine-year-old niece to challenge the sexualisation of girls in pop culture; Fake It ‘Til You Make It, about clinical depression and men, made in collaboration with her former partner; A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer, a whistle-stop tour through five unconventional stories about cancer; and I’m a Phoenix, Bitch, a powerful, dark and joyful work about motherhood, heartbreak and finding inner strength.
Bryony added: “Everyone is a tree hugger. It’s weird to me nowadays that it’s used as a kind of cuss. As children we all communed with nature. Be it rolling in dirt in a city park or jumping on hay bales in a rural idyll, we knew we were of the earth. Overtime we forget, like a spell cast by a distant force. But when we stare at a fire, or we walk in a green space, a part of us always remembers. Something about it… just helps. The climate crisis is overwhelming, it is riddled with guilt, rage and grief. It is an almost impossible thing to comprehend as a human being. And often we find ourselves hiding or apathetic or exhausted. That is normal. This is a show about moving beyond that… what to do next. For me that started with a reconnection. I was dragged kicking and screaming. Let me drag you too”
Bog Witch is created and led by Bryony Kimmings, who is the Writer, Performer and Director. The creative team includes Tom Parkinson as Composer, Tom Rogers as Set and Costume Designer, Will Duke as Projection Designer, Guy Hoare as Lighting Designer, Lewis Gibson as Sound Designer, Sarah Blanc as Choreographer, Gemma Stockwood as Dramaturg, David Butler as Video Associate, and Faith Dodkins as Producer.
BSL is integrated into four performances. Kimmings reunites with long-time collaborator Katie Fenwick as BSL Interpreter, and works with Deepa Shastri as BSL Consultant to ensure the best access throughout. Joey Burford joins the team as Production Assistant.
