Kim Blythe @ Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose
The mischievous Kim Blythe returns to the Fringe with an hour of raucous gags
Kim Blythe feels like a cowboy: not a maverick who rides horses, but one of those guys who says he’ll pave your driveway but never returns. Best known for her viral video clips and sellout debut Fringe run last year, Blythe constantly feels like an imposter – but this year’s hour proves to us she’s got nothing to worry about.
Her style is fairly clubby with a big whack of multimedia (to be expected given her online presence) but she’s got punchlines for days with her ludicrously tall tales and ‘what am I like’ attitude. Although slightly flustered by some gals in the front row having a full-blown conversation to themselves (them swapping anecdotes about the downfall of the Co-op is a particularly funny thing for her to be interrupted by), Blythe immediately riffs about the oblivious pair to the rest of the audience showing just how skilled a comic she is, and has the whole room (bar two) on her side.
Blythe’s list of people she thinks are brave is wonderfully parochial, whilst her stint doing the full Macauley Culkin in NYC is howlingly funny. However, the show sags a little when Blythe simply talks us through some tabloid press coverage she’s recently received, as well as her anecdote about lying to a taxi driver which feels a wee bit laboured. The end of the hour wraps everything up very neatly though with a fantastically cheeky gag as she leaves the stage.
While Cowboy could still do with tightening or working up here and there, Blythe is an undeniable talent and we’re very lucky to have her on the Scottish scene year-round.
Kim Blythe: Cowboy, Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose (Other Yin), until 25 Aug, 7.30pm and 22-24 Aug, 9pm, £10-15