Your usual clubbing experience is about to get a surreal slap in the chops, courtesy of the Portuguese performance artist known as ByStress. Judging by the myriad YouTube videos of his shows (check ‘em out) we’d describe him as a larger-than-life, one-man Cirque du Soleil show, minus the acrobatics – it’s quite unlike anything you can imagine in a club setting, at least since the 70s.

Having an impressive repertoire of characters, ByStress will be featuring three performances, each over three evenings at Hyde – Firestarter, Oxigenitrogen and Snowman. In the latter, ByStress will be dressed all in white, and will hoist up massive inflated pointy arms and flail them around, showering snow from the ends. As you do. In Firestarter, ByStress will turn into something akin to a peacock tin man with sparks bursting from his hands. A note to Hyde: please test your sprinkler system beforehand.

We wondered how ByStress dreamed up such wacky creations, but he says all it takes is a cup of coffee and some pumping techno tunes to inspire him. With a background in plastic arts, ByStress fused this knowledge of materials into developing creative art performances. Usually touring with two to seven people, ByStress takes at least an hour or two to get ‘fully prepped’ and costumed for a show.

Even though his performances are difficult to define, ByStress is well sought-after internationally. Performing both at clubs and festivals, he says his best gig was an ‘unbelievable’ show with the renowned Dutch DJ Tiësto in the Dominican Republic. Known to mingle with the crowd even though his costumes may be tricky to manoeuvre, he loves getting into the thick of it: “[When they] let me get into the middle of the party and I can feel the energy of the people – this kind of feeling makes me feel alive.” Besides, he loves the limelight when people scramble to take pictures with him.

It will probably be an experience to remember, so check it out; Hong Kong partygoers can then decide for themselves whether his performances are mesmerising or just plain ridiculous.

Louise Choi 

Catch ByStress over three days at Hyde, from Thursday March 28 to Saturday the 31st. Click here for more info.