Comedian and Triple J presenter, Sam Simmons has developed a substantial cult following both here and abroad for his absurd humour, and has been a Comedy Festival regular since 2003. He’s been nominated for the prestigious Barry Award and 2 years ago he picked up the Festival Director’s Choice Award. While not quite a household name, he is nevertheless a performer with considerable credentials and a solid following.Simmons had a bad day. His relationship of two and a half years had just come to an end, and with only $14 to last him 3 weeks until his next pay day, he couldn’t afford his favourite Thai take away. Then to top it off, there was the incident with the sticky tape dispenser. At the ripe old age of 32, he felt like a failure.
In his new show Fail, Sam Simmons combines original songs and some traditional story telling with some lo-tech special effects and unlikely props. He chops and changes between reading from his oversized storybooks, answering questions in an impossible game show and addressing the audience directly.
Simmons has a likeable, blokey, rough-‘round-the-edges stage presence and plenty of energy, but on the night I attended, he clearly wasn’t getting the response he wanted from the audience – and told us as much at the end of the show. Maybe it was the awkward pre-show banter which failed to put the audience at ease - or maybe we were a dud audience. Whatever the reason, this particular performance started a little uncomfortably and Simmons struggled to get the audience fully on board for the rest of the show. Which is a real shame - there were some good ideas and despite his frustration, plenty of giggles were had along the way.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget the degree of difficulty involved in stand-up comedy and one of the amazing things about live performance is just how different a show can be from night to night. I suspect this show is better than the performance I attended, but somehow this one failed to ignite.
Fail
Sam Simmons
Venue: The Bosco | City Square, Cnr Swanston & Collins Sts, Melbourne
Dates: 25 March - 18 April, 2010
Times: Tue - Sat 9.45pm, Sun 8.45pm
Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: All Tix Sat $24.90, Full $24.90, Concession $22.90 (n/a Sat), Tightarse Tuesday $19.90
Bookings: Ticketmaster 1300 660 013 | At the door