Art is pain. Pain is art. Two “definitely not masochistic” artists take on the challenge of a lifetime: to create musical comedy with feeling—while feeling the real pain of electrocution. “SadoMusical” is a daring and kinky improvised comedy musical. For fans of improvised comedy and good ole schadenfreude, Fringe Review cannot recommend this show enough. Seasoned improv performers Jayda Fogel and Lee Apsey prove sadomasochism can be sexy… and musically entertaining! Ahead of their triumphant return to Colchester Fringe, Fringe Review’s resident sex pest Dr.Pants tortures Jayda with kinky(ish) interview questions. SadoMusical is on October 29th & 31st during Colchester Fringe.
Read our “DARING WORK” review about SadoMusical.
NAP: Hello Jayda! It’s so titillating to have you return to Colchester Fringe. As an adult pervert myself, I loved your show. SadoMusical was one of my Fringe Review highlights of 2025. Simply spectacular. For the uninitiated vanilla folks, what is your show about?
JF: Our show is about joy, and it’s also a satirical stab at this belief so many people have that creating great work is possible only if the artists have suffered great pain. It’s utterly anti-Abramović, and we take up the mantle of that challenge by committing to create the greatest art of all–musical improvisation–while pitting ourselves against increasingly more painful challenges. The show starts and ends with the same promise to our audiences, we will create great improvisation despite electric shock prods, mousetraps, bamboo canes, water boarding, and any other type pain we may throw at us.
NAP: Out of all of those, what is your favorite prop you use in the show?
JF: We rarely get to use it because it’s more painful than a shock baton, but my personal favorite is our glow-in-the-dark rainbow Duck O’ Nine Tails. If you were at last year’s closing cabaret you’d have seen Nana Funk wielding it against us!
NAP: What inspired this idea to torture yourself on stage? All of us theatre folks are exhibitionists at heart but this is the next level.
JF: Like everyone else our show is inspired by things we love! It’s just that in our case, the influence is primarily professional wrestling, clown, cabaret, and of course improvisation. Have you ever seen two improvisers attempt to sing a heartfelt song while being waterboarded? Have you ever watched the ineffable Lee Apsey get waxed by a tap dancer whilst rapping to words you the audience have chosen? And that’s just a little taster! Plus we get to perform in our home away from home, the gorgeous Dragonfly Lounge, which means audiences get to watch the shenanigans whilst sipping delicious Sado-inspired cocktails and mocktails courtesy of the extremely talented Wes Elkins
NAP: Now not everyone is a fan of displays of BDSM. They’re pretty lame and vanilla. But for those people, how do you convince them to see you endure pain?
JF: If you’re leery of audience interaction or pain, never fear–the only people that get hurt in this show are us, and we designed it! Everything is about enthusiastic consent and finding joy, as well as working together and being a team. Eric Page from SceneMag nailed it when he wrote, “SadoMusical is the kind of show that grabs you, ties you down, and absolutely refuses to let you leave without a grin stapled to your face.”
NAP: And why did you decide to return to Colchester Fringe? What is it about Colchester Fringe that brings you back for another spanking?
JF: The Colchester Fringe and the Dragonfly Lounge are very special places for us and for this show. We premiered SadoMusical at the Dragonfly during Colchester Fringe 2025 before taking the show on tour to New Zealand and other fringes in Europe, and the show has evolved and strengthened so much in the past year. Prepare yourself for SadoMusical 2.0 if you will. As a queer performer it’s also fringe I rave about, and more so because they’re love taking a chance on weird, wonderful, and delicious works from all around the world. I’m not only so excited and grateful they invited us to back, but I can’t wait to enjoy this year’s line-up!
NAP: There’s lots of other shows happening at the fringe. Any other shows you’re excited about?
JF: So many, almost too many! Lee’s other award-winning show CSI: Crime Scene Improvisation is doing a spooky Halloween special, I never miss the chance to see Nana Funk (three shows? How dare she!), Elsa Couvreur gives a masterclass in performance with Embarrassed Naked Female (this show contains nudity), and Theatre Group GUMBO are back with two shows and I can’t wait to see Salaryman Macbeth. Les Kurkendaal-Barrett is also bringing a new show The Unforgivable Crime of Love I can’t wait to see, my fellow Amsterdammer Julia VanderVeen’s DENTATA is a must for anyone who loves clowns and women, I love musical theater so Miss Ann Thropp Presents: A Funeral For Musical Theatre intrigues, and word on the street is that Dr. Pants’ (a play in a) DARK ROOM is not to be missed.
NAP: Yeah, I’m excited for (a play in a) DARK ROOM. I’m planning on being at every performance because I’m a total masochist. And it is almost (very maybe almost) as kinky as SadoMusical. In SadoMusical, you get hit. You get electrocuted. You drown yourself. But out of all of that, what has been the biggest challenge in performing SadoMusical?
JF: This may come as a shock, but airlines hate to see us coming! It’s not a gimmick, some of our props and equipment are dangerous, which makes touring an interesting challenge. And there was that time I broke my nose filming promo…for this year’s Colchester Fringe.
NAP: The show is all improvised so every performance is extremely different. Has anything really surprised you in all the different iterations?
JF: We never expected how many people would get the show, I mean really get the show. And not only that but care about it, and us. They read into it in ways that I never dared put in marketing copy or say outside of our production meetings, and I’ve never felt so seen as a performer. In every review we’ve had so far, in every audience member that’s stopped us after a show to talk, and in the wonderful people that scream “ART” at us on the street, we’ve found ourselves surrounded by a community of beautiful humans who resonate with the show. Because it’s not about the pain, it’s never been about the pain, and I never in a million years thought people would not only fully understand that, but embrace us for it.
NAP: How are you hopeful audiences will leave your show feeling or doing? Should we leave feeling up for our own whipping session?
JF: Joyous and ready to see more at the Fringe! And I hope they feel like lending out a hand within their community, and trying new things. We always leave the show with the same message, which is that while some pain is inevitable, creating happiness and finding joy is up to each of us.
SadoMusical is on Thu 29 October and Sat 31 October at 7:00 pm during Colchester Fringe. Since you’re here, read about all the other kinky and horny things happening at Colchester Fringe. There’s naked females, animal sex, giraffes in g-strings, and you can even find Fringe Review’s Dr.Pants having (a play in a) DARK ROOM.
