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.

Sammy J and Randy are all-rounders, dabbling in satirical, slapstick, and situational humour. Unashamed and unapologetic, they use toilet humour and musical numbers to encourage the audience to heave with laughter. While their friendship seems stronger than ever when they borrow three million dollars to set up the park, it quickly turns sour as they realise that both puppet and person have different ideas about what this park should offer.

Sammy J is an ambitious, kind-hearted bachelor with a hint of egotism while Randy has the attitude and looks of a belligerent Sesame Street puppet that got laid off in the 90s. During the show, we see both Sammy J and Randy take their turns at running the theme park. Unsurprisingly, when left to their own devices, their actions prove detrimental to the success of the park. While Sammy’s desire for the spotlight hinders his ambition to provide G-rated fun for families, Randy’s thirst for destruction transforms Sammy J and Randy Land into a death trap.

Watching Sammy J and Randy interact is like watching Charlie Sheen bicker with the Milkybar Kid – it’s full of biting humour, quick wit and hyperbolic anecdotes. The deliberately B-grade props and finger puppetry were reminiscent of a school play gone fantastically wrong. This is fitting given Sammy J’s expressive inner child, who seeks to enjoy the splendours of life in a family friendly way. Undeniably, the most amusing aspects of Randy are his sharp albeit crude wit and underlying sensitive side, which is what makes this perverse, purple puppet so endearing. The duo were consistently charismatic throughout their horseplay and had an impressive ability to create and effectively deliver multiple in-jokes with the audience within an hour. Relishing laughs, snorts and some leg-slapping from an elderly gentleman in the back, this odd couple clearly exist for the audience’s entertainment and delight.

Amusingly, the audience is warned at the beginning of the show that the theme park’s management will not be held liable for injury or death. As such, perhaps it should have come as no surprise that one front row audience member met their fate: a purple, plastic ball straight to the face. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, the show went on, and Sammy J – true to his nature – apologised through song.

Given the chaotic nature of management, will Sammy J and Randy put aside their differences for the good of the theme park? The answers lie in a little bit of murder, magic and Bondi Rescue.