Sam & _____
Sam & _____
A surprisingly wholesome and joyful comedy of awkwardness in a brilliantly ‘should be a duo but isn’t’ solo show by Sam Walls.
I was asked to review this work in progress show, watching a recording of only the second time it had been performed, at the Canal Cafe Theatre in London. The concept is fairly straightforward, so I'll let the promotional lines do some of the lifting here:
Sam and Gaz are a sketch duo who perform their act across the globe. They're sharp, they're well rehearsed, and impressively slick.
The only problem is... Gaz isn't here. Can Sam handle a one man version of a two man act?
Presented by Sam Walls (one third of the award-winning comedy trio Bad Clowns) who has seemingly chosen to lump an awful lot of work onto himself for this one, but to his credit, he carries it exceedingly well. The show begins as you'd expect, with Sam plainly explaining the situation with Gaz not arriving yet, but that due to strict venue rules on timings he has no choice but to press on anyway, and that everything would work out fine. Of course, it does not work out fine, but for the show as a whole it actually does.
I'm pretty sure we've seen this sort of missing partner thing in short bursts on sketch shows and the like, but I'm not aware of it being the main thrust of an entire show. You may be reading this thinking - as indeed I was - how on earth is he going to pull this off for an entire hour? But it's a testament to Sam's dedication, both in performance and in the carefully crafted writing, that he does.
It is a bit cringey at first, but deliberately so, and Sam's charm carries us all through regardless. The audience are certainly a little unsure what to make of it to start with, but the boundless energy being thrown at them can't help but start to take hold and sweep them all along for the ride - even me watching later via video, I felt it too. Suddenly we all find ourselves wanting this struggling show within a show to work anyway, even though we know that it won't.
In this recording there are a couple of really nice moments that highlight this further, when the audience have reacted in such a way that Sam is forced to break character and explain how it can only continue if they stay on board with the concept and play along with him - and they do.
Each sketch is announced in a way that sets up the punchline of it succinctly without it needing to be blatantly telegraphed, which means that we can all see what is about to happen with a missing piece, but it lands just as delightfully anyway. One of my personal highlights was the recurring shopkeeper sketch, which managed to subvert the expectation beautifully in a different way on each of its repetitions - again it's that cleverly crafted writing which paves the way for this, meaning that even with a hesitantly roped in volunteer it just works brilliantly.
Performance wise, Sam has a lot of plates to spin here, and a fair few eggs to juggle (or not) but he's done well to avoid being bogged down by too much being needed - there are only a few simple props, and it gives the show a very down-to-earth and realistic feeling. I really enjoyed the detail of a sock puppet suddenly being employed, and later spotting that Sam wasn't wearing both of his shoes any more as a result. And while the show is obviously very scripted, Sam does have a few moments to chip in with something quickly improvised that fits for the situation as it develops, clearly being very comfortable with expecting the unexpected from the audience he is working so closely with.
He's also made it so that what happens through the show is laugh-out-loud funny a lot of the time, but also has some flickers of darkness and even wholesomeness in places too - there's an interesting emotional arc underneath the narrative, which has Sam very skilfully playing (effectively) a character of himself transforming as the show goes on. It really elevates the show beyond its simple concept of "the show must go on regardless" which makes it quite fascinating to watch, as well as enjoyable and hilarious at the same time.
Without giving too much away, Gaz does make a few appearances later in the show, with a series of phonecalls that also manage to add something new each time without it ever feeling like a gimmick - even though again, of course we all know that is what it is. The technical side of the show is handled by Johanna Dart, and just as she does in her brother's show Gumshoe, she has a part of her own to play in this too - providing some energetic back and forth with Sam on stage as he gets increasingly flustered by the lack of his partner's arrival.
The other important ingredient for this show is the audience, and they are given plenty to do here, whether it's creating a sci-fi soundscape, triggering doorbells on demand or working together to contribute one word at a time and interrogate a criminal for what ends up being possibly one of the weirdest crimes ever. It's strange, because it both is and isn't awkward. You reading this now will probably know the dreadful feeling of audience participation in a room where absolutely no one wants it to happen, but that definitely isn't present here. As I mentioned earlier, the collective feeling in the room means everyone is wanting it to work anyway, so it does! The simplest demonstration of the supporting spirit inspired in the crowd is that after the show ends one person calls out "So what's the next sketch?"
As a work in progress show, I’d say it’s not completely polished yet, but I do think it has a lot of merit already. It'll certainly be interesting to see how it develops from this point until its next performances at Brighton Fringe. It's funny, it's charming and the core conceit is familiar and fresh all at once. It's a very strong start, and I'm sure it will be shining very soon.
🌟🌟🌟🌟 / 5
Sam & _____ has two performances at the upcoming Brighton Fringe, 9 & 10 May. For more information and to book tickets, Click Here.
