Kemah Bob is just a force of nature. There’s no other way to describe them and their comedy. They’re just an effortlessly funny and high-energy prescience that sweeps us into a whirlwind of endless comedy, jokes and music that is so lively and catchy that we leave the venue in high spirits form the dopamine rush that we just received. In this show, Bob discusses mental health and their trip to Thailand, and tells this story in such an innocuous way that it veers off the edge from straight stand-up into character comedy.
Kemah Bob is just a force of nature
Miss Fortunate is a fun show that refuses to just stay in one genre of stand-up. Bob is such an enigmatic storyteller that we become emotionally invested in the story and its outcome. They create such an immediacy that there are moments where we genuinely feel worried for them to the point where it becomes a little hazy whether this is them delving into character comedy. Bob takes on this voice and persona of someone who just lacks awareness of the world around them, which means that although we’re laughing - because the material is hilarious and spirited - there's a nervous edge to it. Bob does revel in this response, they’re constantly aware of our reaction and why we’re laughing, and they use that, pushing their performance to the extreme without ever crossing the boundary where our frustration at their character over the course of their story stops us from laughing. The role of the ingenue that they take on and this idea of the guileless American, is then pushed to the extreme of this archetype to the point where even Marilyn Monroe did not take it to in any of her roles.
There’s a certain flair of showmanship to Bob’s performance throughout; they’ve thought about every minuscule detail. It’s not just about the jokes, but it’s the lighting and sound design, it’s setting the scene so that we’re really in it with them. Which adds to the overall feeling that we’re in the story with them, we’re bystanders in this. And this role that they allocate to us contributes to the undercurrent of frustration that is palpable in the room.
This is truly a show not to be missed. Miss Fortunate is a remarkable debut hour that has something for everyone (not just the water signs).
