I’ll admit it, I was curious. I mean, what was this show? Every description went undefined, every interview, preview and teaser was a mishmash of misdirection. What was this show? However, I’ll say it: I get it, I am a convert, I am schooled in the way of the Red Bastard.
A grotesque, riotous circus of the intellectual macabre, Red Bastard takes us on a challenging journey of trust, risk and reward that truly does defy explanation. What you think you are there to experience - where the show begins, even what you think you are seeing - it is all revealed to be a lie. I don’t want to give too much away as this really is an interactive experience one must have first-hand. If I were to return, (even knowing what I know now), it would be a vastly different event. Each performance is truly unique; it is highly dependent on the audience - their experiences and their level of trust and participation. The Bosco tent serves as a perfect platform for this otherworldly comic genius, whose probing gaze no-one can escape.
Eric Davis is a tour-de-force of brilliant wit and precision as the sadistic clown here to educate the world on the immense power of an articulated moment of truth. Through a series of strange, hilarious and disturbing ‘exercises’, this twisted little man, filth spilling from his lips like Shakespeare, sets the stage for the real show to begin. The audience is united in this strange collective consciousness as he aggressively, yet strangely effortlessly, takes us all on a convoluted journey through our own self doubts and lost dreams. This is shock theatre at its finest. There is one criticism that I must make to the show - which I write fearfully knowing that his acid stare will find me - is that this is so very smart and provocative that the initial sexually suggestive, potty mouth jokes feel a little crass and gratuitous, leveled by this sharp-tongued buffoon whose every other word is so clearly calculated.
This show is offensive, off-putting, uncomfortable and fantastic, a terrifying combination of the improvisational, the improbable and the impossible. Some may feel inclined to leave early on. Don’t! Take a leap of faith and listen to the Bastard. He has a few things to teach you about yourself.
