The movie Highlander doesn’t get the love it deserves. This silly ’80s movie introduced millions to the idea that you could have ridiculous sword fights and out-and-out machismo all the way through a feature, and audiences would lap it up. You would imagine that the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, of all places, would be the home of Highlander parodies, but alas, this is not the case.
The Duncan Brothers Blood Sword is a deeply silly show that draws inspiration from the first two classic Highlander movies (yes, they made more than one), as well as the brother’s real life experiences.
The plot involves ancient iron-themed aliens coming to Earth to in their iron-themed spaceship to teach humans everything about iron. There is, of course, a prophecy of sorts, as well as a big villain to be faced with the legendary blood sword, a sword formed out of the blood of these iron-themed aliens.
Few shows stop halfway through to deliver a lecture on Haemochromatosis, a fairly common genetic condition that means a person builds up too much iron in their body, but Blood Sword somehow pulls it off. Both brothers have the condition in real life, and the show is in partnership with the charity Haemochromatosis UK. It’s a fun little aside and makes the show incredibly quirky.
The action then pulls back to what is a parody of a great many ’80s sword-based movies and some expert mucking about on stage. Sight gags, clever props, and a mild amount of audience participation make for a very silly and rather fun show that actually has a serious message about looking after yourself and getting treatment. It’s not a clever show, but it is masterfully dumb, and that’s almost the same thing.
Laugh out loud, funny. Brilliant.
You can book tickets for the Edinburgh Fringe 2024 show here.
