Comedian Sam Bowden makes his Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) debut with ‘DandyLion’, a show about identity and how queerness can be for the everyman.
“The show is about getting comfortable with your identity and also understanding that who you are is often very transient, it changes,” Sam explains.
“I feel like there’s this big push in society and culture at the moment that you have to be yourself and you have to find yourself; I have always struggled with that because I feel like I am always changing.”
‘DandyLion’ brings together the weighty topic of racial, political and sexual identity with Sam’s trademark silliness to give a humorous insight into his own identity struggles.
“As a queer man it’s a weird world to be in because I feel pressure from both sides of the aisle, so to speak,” he continues.
“I’m not overtly queer: I’m not particularly camp, I think rainbow is quite gauche to be perfectly honest, and I can’t stand Kylie Minogue, so there’s this weird thing where I feel like I’ve got a foot in each camp because I’m very passably straight, but I do not identify with the aspect of straightness at all.
“But I’m also not feather boa gay, so it’s this odd middle ground, and the show is about coming to terms with who you are as a person and that you should only use boxes and labels if they suit you, but you shouldn’t feel the pressure to fall on to either side.
“It’s also really funny. It’s a stupid show that combines this broad concept of identity with stories and dick jokes.”
Originally from Brisbane and now residing in Sydney, Sam built his comedy chops on the national club and Fringe festival circuit with his first show ‘The Epicurean Shark’ and a one-off called ‘I Thought I Was Helping’.
Ahead of MICF, which will see him take the next move forward in his career, Sam is as excited about his debut as he is to be out of the house after months in lockdown and recovering from tearing three ligaments in his ankle.
“I haven’t gigged down in Melbourne much so first off I want to have a really good time, I want to make people laugh and to be honest I just want to experience the full run,” he says.
“What are the tourist things? I want to get lost in a laneway, I wanna chase the big ball of yarn around, I want to go to a bagel shop.
“I will say this: the bagels down there f...ing slap, they’re so good, and I am looking forward to my show but I’m also looking forward to being able to go somewhere and get a beautiful bagel every morning.”
For all the fun Sam is sure to have, he says his first time at MICF is also an opportunity for him to establish a healthy work-life balance as a professional comedian.
“As comedians, you spend most of your time in bars and when I’ve done the Adelaide Fringe in the past, I made a lot of mistakes where I was getting hammered every night, having the best time in the world and leaving the festival with zero money,” he says.
“I’m looking forward to the responsibility of having to do my hour every night for a month. I’m expecting a good time and hopefully people come out and forget this weird parallel universe we’ve been living in since 2016.”
Sam Bowden plays Trades Hall (Melbourne International Comedy Festival) 31 March-24 April.
