Holly Richards
Trashy in the best way, Rosa Faye Garland is a knock out as Trash Salad; a lonely salad looking for love, sex and attention.
And she’ll do anything to get it.
Trash Salad is like if a burlesque show met a stand up gig and they fucked in the vegetable aisle of Waitrose. It was entirely unpredictable and riotously funny. The show touches on loneliness and heartbreak but never goes too deeply into the subject before bringing us up for air with a joke. In her search for love Trash Salad discovers that humans and salads alike crave intimacy and affection, and vegetables replace more than just genitals in the retelling of her love story.
This piece uses outrageous videos, strip teases, and ballads to tell Trash Salad’s tale. The technical aspects were delivered to perfection and elevated the storytelling to a high level. Unsurprisingly there was audience participation, which Garland handled like a pro.
The show lacks pace from time to time, and it moves from scene to scene without any real rhyme or reason. I would argue that Trash Salad is a bit heavy handed with the meta gag whereby the actor breaks character to call out across the audience’s head to the tech operator: “go to the next cue!” For a unique show with a distinctive style, the constant use of this “joke” felt lazy.
However, Garland has expert comedic timing and had the entire audience in the palm of her hand from beginning to end. Trash Salad is Garland’s comedy debut as a solo artist, and she is definitely one to watch. She also performs as one half of drag duo Alan and Ron and works with the Poltergeist collective.
Recommended Drink: I would recommend a Bloody Mary to accompany Trash Salad, if only so that you can take out the celery stick and hold it erect against your crotch when you’re done – It’s what Trash Salad would do.
You have until Wednesday 1st March to catch this electric comedy at VAULT Festival, in the Flairground. Tickets are available through the VAULT Festival Box Office.
Jake Mace
Sean Denyer
