Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

Is it churlish to complain that a show set on a fictional party bus driving around downtown Hollywood is too loud? In the guise of her various alter-egos, Kym Priess yells into a cheap PA in an attempt to be heard over a pumping rock soundtrack. The result is a cacophony that prizes volume over clarity. Those experiencing the show in their second language were definitely left baffled.

But it’s in the service of the authentic stag-and-hen-do vibe Priess works hard to establish, first as tour manager Dale, getting the scene set, then as bus driver Jerry – a washed-up former Vegas wrestler who fought under the name Loser Lion and still wears the mane to this day – and who we first meet taking a piss into a plastic cup.

Getting the party started, she gets us to sing along with his ring entrance music – the catchy refrain of ‘put ‘em up, put em up’ a nod to The Wizards Of Oz’s Cowardly Lion – and playing air guitar to rock classics. Then onto the drinking games, challenging two punters to down a WKD as quickly as possible, Scottish licensing laws be damned!

Priess is a thoroughly committed clown, unfazed by the peculiar audience a lateish free Fringe show can attract. One guy tonight was convinced he was the main character and that his every inane utterance was comedy gold – and when warned about invading the performer’s personal space, genuinely responded: ‘Is crying not consent?’ Yet Priess’s fearless confidence and generosity of performance overcame this vileness.

After plenty of party shenanigans – and a video call from The Grinch – we meet Dolly, a blow-up sex doll made flesh, who is Jerry’s love interest and a mean Stylophone player, doling out life advice. Then drama as one fellow passenger turns out to be Loser Lion’s old Wrestling nemesis, leading to a near-death experience and redemption through crowdsurfing.

It’s all a load of demented nonsense, of course, a vague narrative justification to get from one set piece of audience interaction to the next. For some, these wild capers will embrace the freewheeling spirit of the Fringe. For me – who’d never willingly go on a real party bus – it was too much noise and enforced enjoyment 

But Loser Lion Party Bus certainly lives up to its ‘high octane’ billing, and as an absurdist clown, LA-based Priess is a commanding performer generating a lot of positivity and energy – despite getting little back from a relatively restrained audience.

Review date: 25 Aug 2025
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: CC Blooms