one4review | On 12, Aug 2026

The packed audience at the Traverse for Bog Witch shows just how popular Briony Kimmings has become with Fringe audiences – and it isn’t difficult to see why. She is a wonderfully polished, warm and engaging performer who quickly has us in the palm of her hand.

At the heart of Bog Witch is what Briony describes as the “hole in her soul”. For years she has attempted to fill it by buying “stuff”, but a new relationship with Will seems to offer the possibility of something more meaningful. Love leads to a move to the countryside where, unfortunately, everyone in the family appears to be thriving except her.

Briony tries desperately to embrace country life, even lying to cover up just how unhappy she is. But that hole in her soul stubbornly refuses to disappear. And whenever environmentally conscious Will starts talking about the damage we are doing to the planet, she simply zones out.

Slowly, though, something changes. Briony begins to notice and appreciate the natural world around her and to understand the devastating impact the human race is having upon it. Then a cataclysmic event brings that understanding into painfully sharp focus.

Kimmings handles the shifts between humour, honesty and heartbreak beautifully. Bog Witch could easily have become a lecture about the environment, but in her hands it is something far more personal: funny, touching and occasionally devastating.

Perhaps most importantly, it makes you wonder whether filling that hole in our souls might have rather less to do with what we can buy – and rather more to do with noticing what is already around us. An absolute must see.

*****

Reviewed by Rona
Traverse 1

Until 30th August (not 17th or 24th)

Various times