Review: EDINBURGH 2024: KATHLEEN HUGHES: CRYPTID, Gilded Balloon Patter House

“Are you an astronaut like I specifically requested?”

Kathleen Hughes: Cryptid begins with a presentation on cryptids, including Bigfoot, Mothman, the Loch Ness Monster and aliens. We learn a bit about each of the different creatures, including their strengths and weaknesses, as well as what they are famous for. All of this is being presented by a passionate cryptozoologist, who then introduces us to one of the scariest cryptids of them all - Kathleen Hughes.

After a fantastic old-fashioned horror trailer, Hughes removes the labcoat and takes to the stage as herself, revealing the cryptid itself. They begin by discussing the “girl power” movement of the 90s and Noughties, a movement that wasn’t actually feminist and instead focused on women being good at things that men do, creating the infamous character trait of “I’m not like other girls.”.

Hughes discusses their love for the supernatural and the paranormal, declaring that she loves them because they have no real answer. They tie this to Catholicism, making for some fun jokes about the paranormal and religion. There is also a hilarious bit explaining the show Most Haunted to the audience, which, according to Hughes, is a paranormal investigation show where everyone on the team hates one another, leading to some fantastic television.

Along with discussing spooky stuff and religion, Hughes goes into her sexuality, particularly being bisexual and figuring out their gender identity. This leads to one of my favourite bits in the show, in which Hughes describes the process of becoming a bisexual in Scotland, which involves a lot of paperwork and travelling to Alan Cumming’s house in order to get it approved. In a hilarious moment of crowd work, when Hughes is talking about their golden retriever boyfriend, which she describes as a “rescue,” she identifies another person with a golden retriever boyfriend in the front row, an identity the man acknowledges with a nod and a laugh. 

But, along with all of the funny moments in Cryptid, there are also some serious sections at the end, particularly focusing on how women have been viewed over history. Hughes expresses her frustration over how sensible women were typically seen as magical, with men treating their advice with “spooky reverence” like the advice given by a drunk woman in the club toilet (a surprisingly accurate metaphor). They also discuss a spooky experience that they have had involving a 6:30 AM walk when starting antidepressants and a strange hooded figure. 

Kathleen Hughes: Cryptid is a fun hour of standup in which Hughes gives us some insight into her life, revealing more about the mysterious cryptid we were first warned about. The show is a solid debut for Hughes and I look forward to what she will do next!

Kathleen Hughes: Cryptid ran until 26 August at Gilded Balloon Patter House - Snug.

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