Review: Duncan Brothers: Blood Sword

The Duncan Brothers are back with a medieval sci-fi epic held together with buckets of enthusiasm and a handful of props that appear to have been hastily assembled from the local Tescos. The show follows two brothers descended from the Ironities, an alien race who settled on Earth many moons ago, bringing with them technology like Irn-Bru, Iron Maiden and, confusingly, two celebrities with the same name who have nothing to do with iron. 

The sword of the title is a legendary artefact forged from the Ironities’ iron-rich blood. As is usually the case in these odysseys, there’s an ancient prophecy that one day the chosen one will yield this weapon. So far, so your standard late-night Fringe nonsense. But there’s an interesting wrinkle. Periodically the medieval tomfoolery comes to a halt and the brothers incorporate into the show their real-life diagnosis of haemochromatosis, a potentially life-threatening genetic condition that causes iron to build in their blood.

It’s certainly an original premise and these clown siblings are nothing if not inventive. A cordless iron, a few balloons and a ratty bin bag do most of the heavy-lifting special effects-wise, while the detailed medical bits managed to be both surreally funny and informative. But despite pockets of fun, much of the show just doesn’t work. The pacing is sluggish and the story often feels like it’s being improvised on the spot – and not in a good way. This Blood Sword is in desperate need of sharpening.