Come Dramaturgy With Me: Red Bastard @ Edfringe 2017

Red Bastard’s new show ‘Come Lie With Me’ will be at the Pleasance Courtyard – Two for the month of August for tickets go to www.edfringe.com

What was the inspiration for this performance?

Well, they say- write what you know.  So, I thought, "What do I know?"  Love, Lies, Truth, Freedom and Death.    So I'll make a show about that.   

Actually I was having a conversation with Richard Gadd. About what I wanted to make.  At first I thought It was going to be a clown show

about having an affair with the audience, but I soon realized, I was not getting into the darker side of it.  Lies and cheating.  That's where I wanted to go.

Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas? 

Hell yeah.   Well, It could be.  If you make the space for it.  Can we get people to come to those shows?  There are these outrageous and passionately angry town halls in America over healthcare. 

It would be so interesting to see people as

passionate at a theatre show.  Didn't they used to riot over the theatre?  Whatever happened to that?

How did you become interested in making performance?

When I was in school, a Drama teacher said, you should try this improvised duet competition.  I was given a topic and a short amount of time to make a 5-7 minute play. 

Enough time that it was necessary to improvise most of it.  To my surprise, I was VERY good at it.  Better than I had ever been at anything in my life.  In a way, I'm still doing the same thing.  Some structure and improvising in between.  It's my favourite form.

Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?

I wish I had a patented formula.  I don't.  This time I worked with Aitor Basauri, from SpyMonkey.  In general I find my theme, then write and improvise around it.  Eventually I bring in a director who provokes me and I videotape everything. 

It all gets transcribed.  I do the humiliating work of removing the 90% of absolute shit that I created.  I mean, if you don't like the show I made, you should see the show I didn’t' make!   I'm looking for the elusive "That's brilliant."    I can't tell you the amount of times I found it and then realized it's shit.  Like fool's gold. 

But then, I have to do the show.  The show isn't the show until the audience is there.  This show is new.  So- it won't be as polished as the original Red Bastard.  I'll be discovering it with the audience, which is an exciting thing.

Does the show fit with your usual

productions?

Well, I have a little more production value in this one than others. But you know, It's Edinburgh, so it can't be too complicated. 

There'll be dancing and musical instrument and film and quick changes.  It's a lot for me.  My last show fit into a duffle bag!

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

Possibility.  Empathy.  Nervousness, laughter. 

Maybe some people will be inspired to be more free with their partners.  Or to communicate more.    

The show asks how free is your love? 

We converse around the themes of monogamy and non-monogamy.  Why and how people "cheat" and what cheating is. .

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

That's a great question.  I'm going to ask that question before I do my next creation.  I don't think I considered any strategies.  Actually-  This was tricky.  Because You're dealing with love and sex-  It's much more dangerous, I think to involve people. 

So I found I am much more gentle with this show than the previous.  Because it's even more dangerous.    Love is Sacred.  The best and worst moments of your life probably revolved around moments of love and sex.