Review: Red Bastard, Jacksons Lane

Context is everything in all theatre criticism. The reason I mention this is that for once I’m all but certain that if I hadn’t seen Julia Masli’s ha ha ha ha ha ha ha at Soho Theatre in December I’d have enjoyed Red Bastard far more.

Red Bastard himself initially takes to the stage in a bizarrely shaped Lycra outfit and briefly impersonates how audience members are looking. An introduction follows and soon he’s getting us to stretch out our limbs as far as we can, before demanding we change seats or risk being the recipient of the Red Bastard’s very wet finger in our ears. I’ve seen clowning comparable to this before, but he certainly has charisma and the daftness he encourages from the audience is undoubtedly fun.

After another selection of similar bits of silliness he states that the rest of the show will only be as good as the audience allows it to be; that if it’s a bad show it’s our fault, and that’s because he wants to hear our desires. Firstly it’s in the form of optimistic dreams, which various people shout out and another audience member writes down on a huge sheet of paper. However, these are all but ignored as the Red Bastard encourages everyone to scream out what we really desire to say to someone, but know would cause upset if we did.

It’s here that the Red Bastard’s style of clowning begins to feel far too similar to Julia Masli’s, except that this is a much simpler, blander version. Masli attempted to solve the audience’s problems one at a time by using many of the surprising props she had hidden behind a curtain, but also often by asking for help from others, or by getting someone else to look it up online, and it made for a bizarrely funny but also life-affirming and deeply affecting show.

In comparison, this feels like a slightly glib self-help book. Or pamphlet, even, as it’s a one size fits all solution. Red Bastard asks individuals to explain what they want to say to someone and why, before suggesting they phone that person right now and do so. And of course no one does, though Red Bastard doubles down on the idea and suggests if you always act on your desires your life will improve, and the way he tries to prove his point is with a bout of full frontal nudity. Which is absurd, but it’s a cheap laugh, and it’s also yet another male comedian getting naked yet again.

So why the three stars? Well, there’s nothing wrong with cheap laughs from time to time and the show is certainly full of them, and those who take it far less seriously may well enjoy this a lot. But once again context comes in to it, and anyone whose desires revolve around a traumatic event or individual may well have a very different reaction.

Written and directed by: Eric Davis.

Red Bastard has ended its run at the Jackson Lane Theatre as part of London Clown Festival