Two bunches of balloons alternated between every political hue at Sammy J’s 'Major Party', from Liberal blue and Labour red to One Nation orange.
With everyone in the firing line of Sammy’s pin-point satire, the jokes popped all night, providing much-needed laughs for those still feeling deflated by the recent federal election.
Comedian Sammy J is no stranger to Adelaide audiences. For one month a year for the last dozen years, he has told gags in tents at the Garden or during late-night sets at the Rhino Room during Fringe.
After spending a year of his performing life in the festival state, Sammy has graduated to selling out the Royalty Theatre, a venue traditionally reserved for comedy galas or big-name international acts like Danny Bhoy or Stephen K Amos.
Sammy J is a big name himself in Adelaide now though, due in part to his diligent touring, but also because of his immensely successful sketches on the ABC.
With 'Major Party', Sammy offered something for everyone by weaving together songs that he has written over the past decade, sketches starring his ABC characters such as Government Coach and the host of 'Playground Politics', which he has written in the brief few months since the last election and perhaps most impressively, improvisation and audience interaction that is so seamless that it appears rehearsed.
While Sammy crafted a show that gives his diverse audience what they want to hear, as a canny satirist, he also speaks some truths that his core demographic may not want to hear. He savagely lampoons baby boomers and knowingly invites the audience to get on the mat for a class of left-wing yoga.
With songs 'Aussie Aussie Aussie (Oi, Oi, Oi)' and 'Pink Clouds (I Saw A Dead Guy In The Park)', he delivered brutal home truths in a delicate and innocuous falsetto.
Without Randy by his side, Sammy was joined by ABC collaborator, writer James Pender, who, like Sammy, had more costume changes than Diana Ross, and who effortlessly morphed from bogan to bailiff, redneck musician to talk show host.
In a time where the most obvious response to our daily political newsfeeds is to laugh or cry, Sammy J’s 'Major Party' was a welcome respite from the chaos.
★★★★★
