Review: Blake Everett’s ‘I’m Beside Myself’ at Liberty Theatre Basement

Blake Everett: I’m Beside Myself at Liberty Theatre Basement
Thursday, February 9, 2023

7/10

Absurd and eccentric, Blake Everett is a comedian determined to take the path less travelled. 

The show I’m Beside Myself kicks off with Everett bounding onto the stage wrapped in a bright-yellow feathery blanket and enticing the crowd into a variety of views as if he were a cult leader. And from there, things got even weirder. 

The show lurched and stumbled along with sketches featuring a variety of weird characters interlaced with the corniest of puns and the occasional musical number (which one suspected all contained the same four chords on guitar). 

The show existed without any sense of continuity, but this felt deliberate, and gave the show a very surreal, off-the-wall feel. Everett’s influences appeared to come from the more experimental side of comedy, from his use of rather elaborate gags a la Simon Munnery to his willingness to provoke the audience into negative reactions like the great late Andy Kaufman.

On his less travelled way, Everett produced laughs, bemused many and won a few admirers. You won’t see a show like this everyday, and for that, Everett must be commended.

MICHAEL HOLLICK