Sammy J Gets Up Close And Personal In His New Solo Show, 'Hero Complex'

As the sound of his young daughter babbles over the phone line, Sammy J is quick to clarify "That's not me, I haven't just suddenly turned into a baby!"

"I just threw myself into it, and it's a very ridiculous tale and a very fun one to perform."

Best known for his work as part of human/puppet duo Sammy J & Randy, the Melbourne comic is looking forward to telling his own remarkable yet true story in his new show, Hero Complex. "It's very much a butterfly effect show," he says. "It starts off with me trading Phantom comics with my school gardener, and then two decades of weird stuff came directly out of that, including the birth of my daughter." He adds, "This is my first solo show in five years, and for a couple years this story has just been kind of waiting to be created. So I just threw myself into it, and it's a very ridiculous tale and a very fun one to perform."

Sammy J also says he's excited about the prospect of returning to a comedic reality, saying "Sammy J and Randy exist in this sort of completely silly fictional world, and we're never trying to push some kind of message or anything, whereas this show is a real and personal tale. It has all these photographs and videos from when I was younger, so it does have a much bigger personal element."

Beyond his work in the duo, the musical comic also found critical acclaim in his Playschool-style parody series, Playground Politics, which saw the multi-talented Sammy J become an inadvertent teacher. "It was a delightful, but a completely accidental by-product," he laughs, "I had people saying they were watching it with their kids and it was sparking real conversations about these things with the families — and that was never the intention. I would be mortified if I thought I was ever educating someone."

While politics has always been a passion for him and his comedy, Sammy J admits. "It's never been the stuff I've been known for. In a sense, you know, you always want to, sort of, train for those sorts of things and be ready when the chance comes up. So [Playground Politics] was a nice chance to flex that comedy muscle, to use a hideous physical analogy."

Sammy J presents Hero Complex, 30 Mar — 23 Apr at Victoria Hotel, part of MICF, 12 & 13 May at Giant Dwarf, part of Sydney Comedy Festival, and 18 — 21 May, State Theatre Centre, part of the Perth Comedy Festival.