Brendon Ludlow
21 Aug 2026
The Body I Left in Susquehanna National Forest- Into the Woods, Out of Your Mind ★★★
The Body I Left in Susquana National Forest begins slowly, initially giving the impression that its path might be fairly predictable. Give it time, though. Once the show finds its footing, it heads somewhere considerably more interesting and much darker.
Supported by a strong audio backing track, this is a fresh premise and one I haven’t encountered before on the Fringe. At its centre is an intriguing question: when everything goes catastrophically wrong in the middle of nowhere, what does your brain do? Where does your mind take you when you’re left alone with an increasingly desperate situation?
The writing is clever and modern, tackling serious subject matter through the lens of dark comedy. There’s a wonderfully uncomfortable sense of imagining just how badly things can unravel when you’re isolated, with the script gradually revealing that what you thought you understood isn’t necessarily where the story is heading.
There are plenty of twists and turns along the trail, although not every section is equally strong. At times, the pacing becomes a little flat, and there are a few moments where the show can’t quite see the forest for the trees. A little tightening would help maintain the tension and allow its stronger ideas to land with greater impact.
As a piece of queer theatre, however, it’s well presented and intelligently written, with a distinctive premise and plenty of potential. The foundations are firmly there; it just needs another layer of development and polish before it’s ready to branch out towards the sell-out international audiences it could potentially reach.
★★★