/ Don't hate the media, become the media.Jello Biafra

Originally published in 2013 during Eric Davis Edinburgh Fringe debut and will next be seen at London Clown Festival at Jacksons Lane, part of their 50th Anniversary celebrations. 

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2025: I'm emotional looking back at this review; I don’t think I was fair on the impact of DO I DARE? It's been over 10 years since I saw Red Bastard's debut at the Fringe; it's as fresh today as it was back then. That's the strange thing about memory: the longer we keep a memory alive, the bigger a life it tends to take. I meant what I said back in 2013: this was a show audiences would not forget in a hurry.

Red Bastard, Eric Davis, relies on this audience to lose all their inhibitions and find an honesty that allows them a freedom that is almost indescribable. For those who might not like audience participation, Red Bastard provides you with something different, more niche, and unique. He challenges his audience to not fear their voice. 

Having the audience shout out statements whilst someone from the audience writes them on the blackboard, two suggestions have been engrained in my memory ever since. One was a woman who had said, ‘You don’t have power over me,’ and an American college student who had some choice words to say to his college friend back home in the States.
Turning to the audience, Red Bastard asks who shouted out ‘You don’t have power over me’, and a smart, young, confident woman puts her hand up. He asked, ‘Who doesn’t have power over you?’ and she replied, ‘My boss.’ Perhaps this is just my memory creating the scene, but I distinctly recall this woman almost lounging in the stalls as she conversed with Red Bastard with a confidence that was so compelling. He then looked right at her and said, ‘Call him; tell him he doesn’t have power over you.’ There was a murmur in the audience, almost silence, as everyone waited for her response, which was, ‘I can’t,’ to which Red Bastard said, ‘Then he does have power over you.’

People had thicker skin back then, and reading this, you’d think that it was cruel, but it wasn’t. This interaction set the tone for the rest of the show; it empowered those who were willing to take part to really take part, to break free of their fears, worries, and doubts, and for 60 minutes be free.

The next statement from the American student sat near the front, focused on him and his college friend having an argument before he left for Scotland. Asking the student what he wanted to say to him, he replied, ‘I wanted to tell him he’s a selfish fuck.’ ‘So why don’t you call him and tell him?’ Unfortunately, he couldn’t make international calls on his phone, so turning now to the audience, Red Bastard asked if anyone had a phone he couldn’t use. One was procured, and he made the call; it went to voicemail, so he left a message telling him how he felt and that he was selfish, and just before he hung up, he said, ‘Happy Birthday.’ The audience erupted.​

I recall being told by teachers in school that ‘you should never judge a book by its cover.’ The idea that on a first glimpse of someone you can already have some perceived notion of what they might be like sounds rather ridiculous, but is something we are all guilty of. 

 

It’s hard not to prejudge someone who is wearing a pretty distinctive red suit and who doesn’t seem to give a damn about what someone might say or even be thinking. I never like meeting performers before I review a show and the other day I walked past Red Bastard as he was handing out flyers. He started to walk towards me and passed me a flyer, but when I told him I had already had a ticket, he looked up at me and said, ‘Oh, then fuck off,’ snatching back his flyer and walking away. 

 

Though I had interviewed him before the show, I was still unclear what I was coming to see. Was this going to be the usual character-driven comedy or was it going to be a little bit harder and unusual? Well, the costume he was wearing suggests that it was certainly going to be the latter. 

 

As he comes onto the stage, he threatens that “something interesting has to happen every 10 seconds" and for the next 10 minutes, he cleverly warms up the audience. Once loosened, the audience began to find their voices and their limits and at one point a guy in the front row ended up getting naked, and another guy ended up getting kicked out (something he won't forget in a hurry).​

"His blunt and at times brutal honesty leaves his audience with no doubt that he will do exactly what he says."

Red Bastard is like something you could never have hoped for from a fringe show. Red Bastard's show is predicated on his audience dispelling their prejudice and becoming honest with themselves and each other, which reduces their fears and inhibitions. The show is aimed directly at his audience and there is almost no time spent behind the fourth wall.

 

For the audience, they see something evolve from a vulgar, erratic, rambling mess of debauchery to a show that will leave them thinking for days afterwards. His blunt and at times brutal honesty leaves his audience with no doubt that he will do exactly what he says.

And yet I am bound by an oath not to spoil the show…this is more than a show; it’s an experience that will stay with you. During our interview, I asked Davis what he hoped his audience would take from the show and he said: 

I hope people will have an experience that is unlike their daily lives.  I hope that people laugh. And I hope that on occasion a miracle happens. That someone’s life changes as a result of having attended the show.  It has happened before, and I hope it happens again. 

It was obvious from the vibe of the audience as we left the tent that this show would remain with them for some time to come.