From the very start, Celine Kuklowsky’s Bed Boy clearly demonstrates its potential. The show has a solid base, but it perhaps suffers with issues that admittedly will resolve themselves with fluency and energy. One overarching theme of the hour is the fact that throughout their comedy, we can see the direction which Kuklowsky wants to go, how far they appear to be itching to take a joke, and how much they rein themselves in just as they are getting started.
Bed Boy takes shape in a gradual, patchwork manner, where Kuklowsky builds self-contained pockets of material that introduce themselves and their comedy to us, gradually opening up to us on subjects that matter to them. In terms of material and topics, Bed Boy is absolutely packed with potential threads to unravel. Each new topic is not introduced to us through a segue, but more of a re-orienting of direction each time. It’s not necessarily a drawback of any sort, more of a stylistic choice and any sense of it abruptness is quickly made up by Kuklowsky’s tendency to vamp and engage with the audience throughout the hour.
Low-energy is perhaps an understatement in terms of the pace of Kuklowky’s material. In fact, they are in a completely separate class; there’s low energy and then there is Kuklowsky. They take a conversational, rambling approach that has quite a gentle, soothing quality to it, moving the show gradually along. The material still remains engaging despite this, but their lethargic pacing will likely be a drawback in the long-term. Even the elements of intensity that occasionally burst through are completely chilled out. Overall, Kuklowsky shows a real desire and ability to connect with the audience in the room, to just check-in and have a conversation with us. In doing so, their skill at improvising and just talking to the person in front of them, often leads to the most grounded moments in their performance.
”Kuklowksy’s punchlines hit the hardest when they push themselves to be outrageous“
The bigger the risk, the bigger the payoff, that’s quite a well-proven rule in comedy. Kuklowksy’s punchlines hit the hardest when they push themselves to be outrageous, when they extends themselves to bring us into the joke that they are building. Almost unfortunately, Kuklowsky frequently checks themselves before that happens, and it’s only such a major sticking point because it is a noticeable and abrupt stop, because we can see where they are going and that in the moment they have enough buy-in and trust from us to take us there, seemingly simply through the magic of improvisation. And it’s disappointing when they don’t, cutting themselves and our own sense of enjoyment off relatively abruptly.
No one could say that Kuklowsky’s material or delivery is in any way subtle, Kuklowksy flags us down with who they are as a comedian from the very start. Bed Boy is comfortable, it doesn’t challenge our sensibilities too much, however much we might want the show to. Kuklowsky has perspective and a wicked sense of humour, but they just need to lean into it and trust their audiences to meet their energy and punchlines in the room.
By Katerina Partolina Schwartz
Photo Credit: Terry Lovette
Pepper & Salt 
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