Love or Death?

343 W 46th St, New York, NY

27 September 2025

Bruno Giraldi’s show asks a number of questions — what does it mean to be “in love”? What happens when being in love crosses with self destructive behaviour? Is it okay to feel love when the person responsible for loving you was also your abuser? And even, what happens when that love you feel so strongly, is gone?

At its heart, this is a show about philosophy and vulnerability, with a satirical dash of humour, that intertwines the concepts of love and of death to show the complexity of emotions that both create — and even what happens when they overlap.

The show takes a comedic approach to some very serious topics and handles them in stride. Sexual abuse, the loss of a parent, the ending of relationships, and even the idea that love will always last (this last one being exemplified in a beautifully satirical up‐tempo version of “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion).

The show opens with Bruno waking up in the morning and searching for someone to love (shown by singing “Somebody To Love” by Queen — which must be a hard song to open with), but as the show progresses, the audience learns that Bruno falls hard when he loves someone which can often lead to some self‐destructive behaviours. This doesn’t need to be something extreme — perhaps just wanting to give your partner everything that you feel they deserve? But the thing is, it’s impossible to have love without pain even if your desire is to simply protect your partner. There is no way to completely separate pain and heartache from love and romance. Even with the best of childhoods, everyone has some sort of trauma and that will ultimately affect their love life. Even if the relationship is generally a good one — that innate urge to give your everything to your partner, to be perfect for your partner (and for your partner to do the same for you) is just simply not realistic; even if many philosophers through the ages put the concept of love on some unattainable pedestal.

So perhaps to love is to suffer? Perhaps love and suffering are just opposite sides of the same coin?

I really enjoyed this show. It was nice and refreshing even to have a show not attempt to sugar coat how difficult and painful love (and death) can be. But mostly, I loved Bruno’s willingness and ability to be so blunt and vulnerable with the audience. It is not an easy thing for a lot of people to speak openly about their own experiences and traumas. Let alone, write a show and perform songs, to inform the audience of these past events. I know that it is scary for people to drop their mask, to stop acting, and to let themselves be vulnerable. And that is exactly what Bruno did. He was vulnerable. And it was beautiful to see.