The Magdalen

The Dundee Fringe had a rare encounter with Death and a dominatrix on the 18th of September as Chris Brannik and Karen Kirkup from Two Foolish Productions took the stage to perform their new show ‘Love Hurts’.

‘Love Hurts’ focuses on ageing dominatrix Sophie Bywater as Death visits her dungeon, which signals to audiences her time on Earth is nearly up. However, Death is not the grim reaper figure we imagine, as he does not arrive with a scythe and instead has had a rebrand as he arrives in a stylish purple suit, armed with a customer satisfaction survey about life. The concept of the show is delightfully bold as the two talented performers prove that theatre can indeed take us to surprising places as they create a world where a dominatrix offers Death a square go, which results in his mission to get her to the afterlife to become much harder than he had hoped.

The show explores love, regret, and loss through quick-witted humour and moments of vulnerability, with the performances from Brannik and Kirkup being the highlight of the show. Sophie is a fierce and strong woman with a kinky and sardonic sense of humour, yet in her final moments Kirkup was able to skilfully express the depth to her character through revealing to Death the parts of her past she cannot escape from. Her companion in return is charismatic yet ominous, as Brannik portrays Death with a comedic approach, becoming a therapist and salesman in one.

This duo bounces off each other, and the chemistry they have is very clear. Brannik and Kirkup offer a show that is deep in humour, which was appreciated from myself and the audience around me, yet they are also able to have a show full of emotion as Sophie and Death battle the big questions about the meaning of life and love. These two are natural born performers and were an extraordinary pair to watch!

I enjoyed myself throughout the show, particularly loving the references from Death about past philosophers such as Camus, Nietzschean and Plato, with the latter philosopher receiving a response from Sophie of ‘What a twat!’. The two might not see eye to eye when it comes to how they think about life, with pain and suffering being a part of Sophie’s job, whilst Death’s existence is based off of these things, yet when Death’s rebrand results in him getting non-stop phone calls (yes, Death owns a phone) from those down below, the unexpected pair bond over their struggles with a big drink of whiskey and find an unimaginable solace in each other.

‘Love Hurts’ is a fabulous comedic and surprisingly moving theatre show, where you can expect to laugh one minute and think about life the next. It is a new approach to fringe theatre, and I can’t recommend it enough!