Edinburgh Fringe 2024
The Duncan Brothers: Blood Sword
The Duncan Brothers
Genre: Absurd Theatre, Clown
Venue: Underbelly @ Cowgate
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
An absurd show based upon the personal experience of two brothers who find they share a condition of the blood. It is a visually chaotic experience which knows its audience and knows itself whilst managing to get a point across with an iron and a sword.
Review
Hemochromatosis. Who knew? I certainly had no idea of its existence. Finding that they share the condition brothers, Rob and Andy have created a show that takes absurdity and delights in it. With the searching for a solution in a multiverse quest that they embark upon, this is both personal and highly absurd, as they tackle the retention of iron in their bloodstream whilst being creature from another planet which has plenty of iron. In fact, just like them, it retains too much.
They arrive on earth, get separated and whilst here meet with doctors who tell them they have too much iron. Their quest is therefore to deal with having too much… iron.
There is much ironing.
And that, is where I started to drift. The opening is funny with the planet and the iron ship trying to land on planets represented by balloons which cannot quite take the heat brought by the spaceship until they land on earth. Both brothers match that absurdity with costumes that heighten the stupidity. Set pieces like the beauty of the doctor presenting his PowerPoint are great whilst the lack of structure can at time be massively challenging. We can see the quests, the bringing up of one brother by deer for what they are – alongside the nipple gags – but the drive towards an ending with blood sword works: to a point.
Once absurdity attempts to make a serious point it can struggle and here is where I found that struggle. Whilst I did not want to feel that we had a worthy exploration of a terrible condition I did want to find something to hang onto which would enhance my understanding. I was never going to get that here. It was a late-night feast of fun that the crowd lapped up. It was very funny at points and though I am certainly not their targeted audience I can really appreciate the style and the thought behind the whole chaotic enterprise. It is much more than just a couple of lads getting their giggles from increasingly absurd thoughts and opinions, but tried and tested timings of those gags and expecting giggles. I have little doubt this shall get a lot of decent coverage, not just because of the very personal nature of it and it will do them well, I was just looking for the absurd, the laugh and the get out.
