Award-winning absurdist Sam Simmons presents his new hour of oddball comedy in ‘A-K’.
'Sam Simmons is so funny he could make the phonebook hilarious.' These are the words another reviewer once wrote about Sam. And because Sam is filled with the kind of confidence to smash taco shells on his chest, he’s decided to read the phonebook on stage for an hour to a sold-out audience (25 March) in his new show ‘A-K’.
However, what the audience gets is an hour of hilarious absurdities tying together to form a surprisingly deep message.
‘A-K’ opens with Sam under a single spotlight, dressed in a red sheet and a tutu around his neck singing ‘Ave Maria’ in a high voice. He explains his high voice is the result of a mishap involving a 5c coin and a Hungry Jacks Stunner meal. One of the great things about Sam’s comedy is his very specific details; a meal is never just a meal. It’s a Hungry Jacks Stunner meal, paid for with three $2 coins.
Throughout ‘A-K’ Sam fails to get far in his phonebook reading attempt, instead bringing up his strange thoughts. Sam has always been surreal and this show is no different. He talks of annoying old ladies in supermarkets, sad music making anything depressing and a euthanasia fantasy featuring a waterslide, Siamese twins and a giant Viennetta.
But compared to previous shows there are noticeable changes. In the past, chaos took the reins in Sam’s shows. He’d climb over the audience, yell at stage techs, litter the stage with food/ liquid and exclaim that his show has become a train wreck. While always funny, it’s not the stuff of a big, comedy show.
But with his new, larger audience comes an incredible tightness to his performance thanks to an iPad he uses to control musical cues from the stage (a female a capella group singing phrases like “hedge pervert” is a joy). The iPad and lack of props made it feel like a proper stand-up show, but in a Sam Simmons way.
Another change is Sam including more personal stories. Now married and a new father, Sam wonders about adjusting to his new life and what kind of legacy he can leave for his daughter. Of course, this being Sam, it’s filtered through his weird brain, leading to his thoughts on the purpose of male nipples, with his appearing during a sexually-charged game of badminton with an audience member.
Sam has always been an odd comedian. But what makes him a master is the way he ties together all of his weird thoughts into something making sense. Things like male nipples, a sexy nemesis dad and the women’s AFL shouldn’t connect, but Sam brings them together in a beautiful tribute to the women in his life, which he hysterically ruins.
‘A-K’ isn’t just a hilarious hour of stupidity, but also an evolution in the comedy of Sam Simmons. It’s exciting to see where he’ll go next.
