In Stitches Comedy Festival : Sammy J– Forest of Dreams
Review by Lisa Lamb

In times of economic crisis and super star deaths, the one thing you can count on is laughter and Sammy J delivers it in abundance! Appearing at the Cremorne Theatre QPAC as part of the” In Stitches” Comedy Festival in a bizarre and surreal puppet show for adults. Imagine the music of Disney, the drama of Lord of the Rings, and the emotion of Les Miserables. Then blindfold them, beat them, regain their trust, beat them again, and you might end up with something resembling the Muppets meet South Park. This is the comedy of Sammy J in the Forest of Dreams.

Sammy J is a Melbourne-based comedian, actor, and writer with recent appearances on Spicks & Specks and Good News Week, plus the Melbourne Comedy Festival and Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Sammy J has a huge future in comedy. He is also an accomplished piano player. In this epic fairytale, he has composed a full musical score, a very strange plot and some charming visual effects, which results in an incredibly funny show. It’s as if the Lion, Witch and Wardrobe fell into a parallel universe, with a reluctant hero who happens to be uncoordinated, under weight and under paid apparently only in berries, which he’s not allowed to eat. It includes some wonderful audience participation and shatters the illusions of conventional storytelling, with its lightness of touch and brilliantly unpredictable gags. This is no sickly sweet Disney production and should you be in any doubt, the opening song is called: ‘F*** you, Disney’ – and marvellously catchy it is too. From there, the scrawny Sammy J falls into a magical porthole and into the Forest Of Dreams, where he encounters sarcastic enchanted flora, sexually depraved monarchs and some weird blue-headed thing, among others. All are magnificently over-the-top comic creations in their own right, resulting in 75 minutes of filthy, frantic and gloriously fun and apparently no morals aside from “Don’t be a dick”, it’s hardly a show for children.

The adventures are played out as an ambitious full-blown production, even though it is only Sammy J and his amazingly talented, and unseen, puppeteer Heath McIvor (Walking with Dinosaurs) behind it all. With their faultless comic performances, they bring a playful spontaneity to everything, even ad-libbing as the puppets when required. It’s perfectly pitched, ensuring the irony never overwhelms the sense of fun and adventure. As Sammy J leads a coup against an oppressive King in all his 58 kilos (57 if he’s stressed) of glory. Chances are you’ve never seen anything quite like this – at least not yet. This show has got cult stage hit written all over it.

Author: Lisa Lamb

Where: Cremorne Theatre, QPAC
When: Sat 27 June