The final stop on his UK tour, Australian comedian Blake Pavey took to the stage at the Stand in Edinburgh on Sunday 18 October to perform his most recent stand-up routine.
The set began with an explanation of the tour’s title. Having been diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis and given a life expectancy of only 45 years, he had never thought of a future past this age. However, with his new medication, he is expected to live a full life, and for that he’s A Bit Scared.
Pavey explains he never had to worry about what the future would look like because he probably wouldn’t have lived to see it, but now the sense of impending doom which consumes us all has made its way to him.
There is no reason for him to stress, however, as at only 24 years old, it appears Pavey may have mastered his craft already. The set was wonderfully captivating and covered all sorts of topics, ranging from his British experience and coming to terms with British slang, to his unfortunate coverage of the 9/11 anniversary during his short-lived stint as a newscaster on Behind the News.
Pavey used the mic for additional comedic effect, talking (shouting) away from it to address the audience after a joke and make his passion for the topics very apparent, which did not fail to amuse any of the many, many times he did so.
Truly a display of the comedian’s innate talent as a comic, this routine seemed almost natural. Granted, he has had time to tweak and perfect the routine over the course of his tour; he performed it effortlessly, nonetheless.
Despite a lot of the audience being made up of people who admitted they had not heard of Blake Pavey prior to the show (which, in that moment, seemed to make the comedian a touch more apprehensive about some of his jokes), I have no doubt that the next time he returns to Scotland, he will be welcomed with open arms and a pint of Tennent’s.
Feature Image Credit: Tess Bowen