Sammy J: Potentially

Sans Randy, Sammy J’s potty-mouthed purple puppet with whom he’s attracting some rather warm reviews at the Udderbelly, will the “skinny blonde Aussie bloke” have enough comic firepower to sustain a full hour alone?

Potentially begins with a melodious voiceover reading a children’s story that Sammy wrote when he was 11. See, back then, Sammy could have become a published author. He had the potential. The world was his for the conquering. To illustrate this vexing preoccupation, he then launches into a song exploring the possibility for all sorts of things. Maybe there’s a ninja in the audience? Maybe everyone’s about to get naked? Maybe Sammy will die at the end of this song? Maybe this theme has already outstayed its welcome? And so on.

The songs (from honky-tonk to glam rock) are exceptionally well-drilled and performed, though far too often drift into mere observation, rather than anything approaching comic observation, and the between-song chat doesn’t improve things either. A small chasm opens up as Sammy indulges some tediously drawn-out metaphors (“my comedy is like politics… my jokes are my policies… and your votes are your laughs”) and disclosures like “isn’t ‘blimp’ a funny word?” hardly get the room rocking.

It’s amiable and harmless enough, but every well-rehearsed word, gesture and callback feels so precisely machine-tooled that it renders our host something of an automaton.

Last year, Sammy enjoyed award-winning success at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. Will his solo show enjoy similar acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe? Potentially. Though on the strength of tonight’s show, unlikely.