The Bastard is back! Returning after taking a year away from the Fringe to conquer the world, Red Bastard, the beastly bouffon, is here to feast on our lies and he has prepared a spectacular smorgasbord for us to share whether we want to or not.
A bacchanal buffet of frank admissions and delicious guilt
Lie With Me is only Red Bastard’s second show and yet it feels perfectly crafted; an opening that is light years away from the monstrous character throws us off as Eric Davis appears sans red hood to explain himself and his reasons (or lack thereof) for being there. He promises us that there’s no ending to his show in a frank series of admissions before Red Bastard arises and takes over the narrative.
This is a show about lies. Lies and love and the lies we tell about love. Red bastard wants to challenge the audience, to make us face how duplicitous and hypocritical we can be about our relationships and the presumed ‘rules’ of monogamy. There’s a lot of questioning of the audience and this show relies greatly on willing engagement from the ticket-buying public. In some shows this would be a risk but Red Bastard isn’t one of us so it’s easy to open up to him. He’s such a wretched yet intriguing creature that we find ourselves answering his probing questions and delighting in his salivations at our various slights and mistruths.
Davies has created a character that allows him to present what, in any other guise, would be a by the numbers solo show about betrayal and infidelity but, in the guise of Red Bastard, it’s a bacchanal buffet of frank admissions and delicious guilt served up with a side of fear.
If you’ve ever lied to a loved one, this show could be your confessional, but don’t expect forgiveness from Red Bastard; only understanding.
