by: Stanley Allan Sherman © September 7, 2014
Red Bastard by and with Eric Davis
If you miss the Red Bastard – it will be a tragedy – for you. One does not see the Red Bastard show, you with the audience experience and are part of the Red Bastard.
Yes, total theater.
Lots of theater/entertainment have lofty goals of achieving good. Change the world in some way for the better. Political theater, often we hear and see moving messages. But how often can theater actually challenge you. Move you to action or beginning action. With an actual possibility that it will change your life. Red Bastard can change your life. It is one of the very few shows I have experienced that is able to achieve this. As Harry G. Frankfurt says in his book “On Bullshit” “no bullshit.” It is all about truth. Clowns and in this case the bouffon never lies but embrace the truth and takes it where ever it goes. Laughs, good times, entertaining, great moments of total fear or/and freedom. It is all your choice…to an extent.
Red Bastard is a truly original show with soul. Built, test, performed, honed and developed over many years. One thing about Eric Davis – you can count on him always pushing and refining his Red Bastard.
Yes it is for everyone and some would say it is an “adult only show.” It can be a show you dare to go to. Is there audience participation you ask? Weeeeeeelll, no – it is something else on a totally other level.
History: The Red Bastard comes out of the Bouffon, plus all of Eric Davis other talents. Bouffon was developed by the late Jacque Lecoq at his school in Paris. This is the only Bouffon show where I have seen Bouffon work, entertainingly, artistically and commercially; other than the successful Bouffon Glass Menajoree, which Eric Davis directed. First time I saw the Red Bastard was in a very early stage of the shows development, when the Red Bastard was walking up 7th Avenue in Manhattan’s Garment District handing out postcards, getting people to come to his show. And if you went to the show, you would get a free beer. That seems to have been well over 10 years ago plus. This points out how long Eric has been developing his Red Bastard. It is a totally different show and a well developed Red Bastard now with lots of joyful risk that goes beyond where most people can even imagine it can go.
Do you have hopes and dreams? Then this is a show for you. Red Bastard lives on an edge that does not give up.
Next shows that are part of the NY Clown Theater Festival, Wednesday Sept 10th @ 10:30 PM and Saturday Sept 13th @ 10:30 PM.
For information, tickets $15 and shows:
The Brick Theater 579 Metroplitan Ave, Brooklyn NY www.bricktheater.com/clown
As part of the NY Clown Theater Festival, Eric Davis will be conducting a two day workshop Sept 14th & 15th from 7 to 10 PM
Red Bastard website http://www.redbastard.com/
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