4 STARS ****
Loser Lion Party Bus is the full-throttle one-person show of comedian and performance artist Kym Priess. It’s a surreal whirlwind of comedic and musical mischief which shifts into unexpected emotional rawness.
Climb aboard a metaphorical party bus as you head downstairs at CC Bloom’s, a highly fitting and fun basement venue that Priess has creatively transformed into a wild party mobile. The seating is arranged so that two audience sections face each other across a narrow aisle. Any signs of a conventional stage are probably better interpreted as the ‘driver’s seat’, where there are only guitar pedals to operate.
As audiences funnel in, they’re greeted by Dale, an Australian tour manager who lurks offstage and is the first of Priess’s zany characters to appear. Soon we are introduced to our high-octane host in a lion suit, Jerry. Although Jerry’s tragic and mysterious past as a defeated wrestler in Vegas is not quite in his rear view mirror, he’s incredibly hilarious and endearing.
It is clear from the start that this show is not going to pump the brakes on party bus chaotic energy, keeping us entertained with a cruise of twists and turns from epic air-guitar antics to chug off contests. And while we cover a lot of comedic and musical ground at breakneck speed, Priess ensures the ride is smooth, giving a spectacular and fearless performance, even as she ends up face down on the floor in a puddle of booze.
Even more impressive is her gentle approach to every audience interaction. Priess is patient as she includes even the most reserved among us, softly suggesting that we are all driving this runaway bus together. As adverse to audience participation as I am, I found myself wondering what left-field tomfoolery was around the corner.
Priess’s final character, Dolly, is Jerry’s blow-up doll love interest, and the show’s emotional core. After we weave in and out of Priess’s hysterical live costume changes and experimental covers of pop anthems, Dolly wobbles in on one high heel. She’s like some camp Cinderella who emerges from a sweaty mosh pit, to encourage audience members to offer their practical life advice and to spread a little love. In one of the show’s final moments, she crowd-surfs on an inner tube, sticking the landing despite a missing shoe.
My spirits are high as I disembark the party bus, feeling positively energized and playfully challenged. Priess has turned the usual tension and fear around audience participation into a moment of genuine connection.
I’ll never forget loser lion Jerry, and how he led the charge towards unhinged healing, reminding us at every turn to just enjoy the ride.
Loser Lion Party Bus by Kym Priess, CC Bloom’s, daily until 23rd August
