Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Low Down
“From the Latin feralis, meaning a plant or animal that returns to a wild state after being domesticated (or, alternatively, one that never was). A vocal-sound performance delving into processes of sexualisation, objectification and the empowerment of personal pleasure. Josefina weaves a narrative of her journey – from a hypersexualised childhood to an adulthood where pleasure finds new avenues of exploration through domination, sex work and BDSM. The performance unfolds in an intimate setting, featuring a live-sound recording and playback setup alongside other sex technologies that accompany the storytelling. Feral is a defence of the object over the human.”
Review
I could write a PHD-length review of Feral. You’ll be relieved to hear that I won’t. What I do want to state at the start of this much shorter review, is that the wisdom and intelligence that underpins Feral is also why it is being billed by your humble reviewer as “Daring Work”.
You might think it is a risk to bring a show to the Fringe that involves direct audience immersion in the practice of domination-submission by a Dominatrix. The show is interactive, contains trigger warnings before we start with a clear “way out” offered if we wish to leave at any time, and an equally clear statement that no one has to do anything they don’t wish to. What will then occur is respectful invitation by our host, not a hint of cajoling or pushiness. And here lies a bit of precise execution of dom-sub ethics. The power always rests with the one submitting. You get to say no, you get to say stop.
I also notice that there are other shows about being a Dominatrix at the Fringe. In one of those shows, the statement is made that not all dom-sub activities need be about sex. This show chooses to focus on themes of pleasure, objectification and the potentially empowering nature of domination-submission when living and releasing ourselves in our daily lives.
What if objects were of equal value to human beings? We are clearly human beings, yet we can choose to identify ourselves as objects. In that context, we would then express our love, not just human to human, but also human to object, and every other combination. Different cultures revere trees and plants and would never harm them, Others value the things they take from the world, the materials we use to transform and craft. It is only when objectification diminishes the value of objects that we damage and destroy. The thesis here (as I experienced it in Feral) is that we can explore the pleasure clearly available to us more deeply and profoundly if we value objects as much as we value our humanity. Love then becomes pervasive, and it inheres in everything. And when we experience that in domination and submission, specially through the enabling discipline, games and rituals of the dominatrix, love comes truly alive.
This is then staged before us, in theatre, spoken word, vocal and loop sound, dance and physical movement by our solo host, Josefina Cerda. And the bravery is not in the demonstration of the dom craft, where audience members are invited to experience directly different aspects of the sexual power play, pleasure seeking and giving, sensuality and sex, but in the subtitled and directly shared monologue. Academic underpinning (the performer is an established academic researcher and educator) is the risk taken here. It could all become over-complex, over-preachy, a clunky polemic, a case for this practice and lifestyle. Instead we become challenged, informed, with the argument only occasionally too polemical. It deepens the physical experience, integrates with the poetry, and the ravish beats and soundscape.
It is a mult-media show that combines sound, music, movement and monologue with applied play and punkish performance. It will be outrageous to some but there were clearly audience members willing to submit to the sexually charged invitations to say thank you afterwards.
Staging is a bit messy and there is scope here for some dramaturgy in the narrative of the 40 minute performance. The show will be better for being tighter and clearer in some of its transitions.
Yet I come back to the risk here – for such an intelligent underpinning, for philosophy and sexual politics, for conceptual art to be blended with a very fringe style performance. It could all become clumsy. Instead it feels to me that the risk has paid off. The adult content has been put to the service of a mission, a gift to human beings to live better, more satisfying lives. You might not agree with it at all. It might shock you. But you can’t fault Feral for taking an philosophically credible view of its material and intentions, and managing to artistically succeed in doing so.
