Hailing from Melbourne, Sam McMillan aka Sammy J is both a friendly and highly anticipated face this Fringe season. Sammy J is best known for his comedic work with Heath McIvor aka Randy, having just wrapped up their first season of Sammy J and Randy in Ricketts Lane on small screen television. This year, the duo bring audiences a rollicking performance in Sammy J and Randy Land, the name of the turbulent theme park, leading to what Sammy describes as a “philosophical battle between myself and Randy”.
During his high school years, Sammy identified as a prankster and comedian to be. However, after scoring higher than expected during his final year, he made a “huge mistake” and studied law. Soon after, he dropped out to pursue a career in comedy – “the legal profession dodged a bullet in not having me as part of it” he jokes. Amusingly, in his television show Sammy J and Randy in Ricketts Lane, Sammy says he plays the failing lawyer he could have gone on to be. Fans anticipating a second season of the show will have to remain patient. As Sammy explains, “we are still waiting to find out. It will come to a battle between executives in a tower somewhere in Sydney!”
Having attended the Adelaide Fringe Festival for a decade now and performed shows in both Edinburgh and Montreal, Sammy J is well versed in the art of comedy and musical performance across different audience landscapes. “A good show is a good show, wherever you take it.” While some comedians may tailor their work to a crowd, Sammy finds that creating comedy honestly and for oneself first is what is most important.
“You must be an honest performer. You must say something you find funny yourself and hope that someone out there will share your sense of humour,” Sammy explains. To keep persisting in your work can come as a significant challenge to many comedians, especially early on in their career when audience retention is low and, as Sammy coins it, “you’ve just died in the arse”. However, he maintains that the brazen attitude that got him through his early years as a comedian would not protect him from criticism now; “These days, I couldn’t take it. I would want to quit because I would be too sensitive, too aware.”
In a time when political correctness is rampant and we are constantly wary of being misinterpreted, comedians may feel like their humour has been compromised and unfairly judged. With the pressure to be outrageous – but not too outrageous – there can be a sense of fear and tentativeness surrounding comedy. “Yet another example of the internet ruining everything” Sammy says. Instead of bending at the will of social justice warriors taking jokes out of context, he says he “doesn’t have the need to defend [himself]”. “I don’t think any topic is off limits. A good comedian will turn [a taboo topic] into clever material and a bad one will turn it into a bad rape joke.” While Sammy finds a lot of things offensive, what he finds most offensive is a performer not having prepared for a show; “a performer who doesn’t respect their audience by learning their lines”.
Throughout the conversation, it is clear that Sammy takes his comedy – both his passion and career – very seriously. While his responses are thoughtful and well-articulated, punchy jokes are still sprinkled throughout, reflecting the “class clown” mentality of his school years. “If we lose one or two children, then that’s okay”, Sammy says flippantly of the theme park. “I don’t think it’s ruining anything to say that the audience can expect for things to go to shit in about 3 minutes of our show starting.” Throughout the performance, be prepared for a fine blend of both the wholesome and the obscene – something which Sammy J and Randy have turned into an art form.
