Red Bastard

Red Bastard
Eric Davis

Red Bastard really is a comedy monster. The form of Boufon (buffoon), a deformed outcast who ridicules his audience and society, is seldom played well; they usually come in groups; almost never is that creature found solo. That he is alone and scary and funny makes Red Bastard unique.

He capers elegantly and nimbly around the stage as "bon mots" trip lightly off his tongue. Yet he is monstrously deformed: a huge buttocks, bulbous thighs and belly, all covered in a red union suit and hood. We initially find him charming and funny as he takes us through theater exercises--"work thru the feet," "suspend," "displace." He is actually training us to cooperate--creating a "yes set" with the whole audience.

When we are truly ready to go along with him, he might shame us for our eager participation. He asks us to all shout out our fondest dreams, and then something that we always wanted to say to someone. He singles out people to tell what they shouted and challenges them to do something about it. Red Bastard treads the line of our comfort and often stomps right over it. Luckily, he usually stays strangely lovable.

For me, the unmasking of the character at the end, combined with what becomes a polemic to live an authentic life, dilutes the power of the mirror that Red Bastard holds up to us. He has already shown us our weaknesses and the compromises we make to live comfortably in a complex world. We do not need Eric, himself, to tell us that again.