‘Now I only do dick jokes when I want to’: how Texan standup Kemah Bob found freedom in Britain

Their Miss Fortunate show – which takes in bipolar disorder, financial ruin and a shocking scamming in Thailand – will ‘take the charge paddles to the chest’ of a comedy career that began with an eye-gouging

Kemah Bob arrives wearing a stylish ensemble: blue denim dress with lime green bag and sandals. The Texan acquired the outfit during the wild ride that is re-enacted in their new show, Miss Fortunate. In 2023, a bipolar episode led the comedian to uncontrolled spending on clothes, trinkets and holidays. One trip was to Thailand, a solo journey planned as an escape from burnout, that spiralled into a dark encounter with a would-be trafficker. The standup was spun a web of lies by someone who initially seemed like a fun travel companion. Shedding money along the way, Bob finally realised their passport was missing and that they were being scammed “when I was trying to live my Eat Pray Love fantasy”.

Before performing Miss Fortunate at the Edinburgh fringe this summer, Bob was reluctant to reveal too much about it. Although they’ve been prominent on the UK comedy scene for nearly a decade, this year was Bob’s debut hour at the festival. “I worried that the mental health element would deter people,” the comedian says. A whistle-stop run through the subject matter – bipolar disorder, financial ruin, extortion – belies how light and mischievous Miss Fortunate is, with the charismatic and reflective standup delivering a handful of songs, and guiding us through their ups and downs.

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