We’re finally about to start Edinburgh Fringe festival 2023, and our last preview show of the year is an absolute must see at the fringe.
Sam See’s “Government Approved Sex” is everything a good Edinburgh show should be. It’s a unique narrative, interesting concept to hook people in, a voice that is a scarcity on the comedy circuit, and a painstakingly programmed slide show to go along with it.
Sam See made his Blizzard debut earlier this year. The gay Singaporean comic is a unique voice in every way, and this show is a reworked version of a series of talks and workshops he was contracted to work on in his home country by the government to research and educate about sex. There are many layers to this, not least because of the country’s less-than-welcoming attitude towards homosexuality.
But what already sounds like a fascinating concept for a comedy show, seamlessly integrates with an incredibly personal tale and examination of relationships and expressions of love and sexuality that will have your heart aching for the comic by the end.
Don’t be fooled though, this isn’t just a feelings show – Sam See is also one of the tightest joke writers working today, and there is barely a single moment where you’re not crying with laughter, or being set up for a punchline that is as unexpected as it is hysterical.
Government Approved Sex is worthy of awards, and if you’re up in Edinburgh at all you should absolutely check it out, and be blown away by the best gags and heartening tales of sex, kink, love, relationships, betrayal and self worth. Book your ticket here.
The second show, and the last of this run of WIPs was my own debut. Now, I write these posts so that acts can basically get a reference of endorsement from us, and promotional quotes they can use. So it’s kind of weird if I do the same for myself. I deliberately avoid my own sections when I’m compering, but as this is a milestone for me, the rest of this piece will just be a reflection of how I found it, and not a review, because if I reviewed my own work “10/10 no notes, perfect” – you’d be rightfully skeptical.
It was a challenge writing this first hour. I easily have over an hour worth of material by now, but most of it I either hate, has dated out of topical or personal relevance, or just didn’t fit the theme of the show. Even so, I was surprised when I ended up with nearly 20 pages of material, running it through the first time the day before the show and running like 40 minutes over time. I had so much more of my story that I wanted to tell in the hour, and was worried about how I was going to fill an hour.
Blizzard Comedy is mine and Kirstie’s entirely non-sexually-produced baby, and as such, the laughter may have been skewed in my favour compared to a room full of people who aren’t invested in my life and performance. But even so I definitely under predicted how many breaks I’d have to take while the laughter died down. It was an incredibly delightful feeling, and I think I’m allowed to feel a little smug.
The narrative I wanted to tell definitely doesn’t have a clean cut ending, it has some ideas and then just kind of ends, so I want to tighten that up. There are also some things I wanted to address, such as the role of religion on my upbringing and the relationship between my sexuality and gender – but there’s also not much, if anything, from what I did that I’d want to cut. I’ll have a play around with it and see what else I can include and what I can maybe cut.
I don’t really know what my next step in my own comedy career is. I don’t really think of much outside of Blizzard, but it was very cathartic to tell this story in one coherent narrative even if the individual pieces were not all new. Maybe I’ll take it to a festival one day. Maybe I’ll eventually tour it. I don’t know. All I know is this bucket list goal that I’ve been putting off and terrified of for over a year has been done, and now I’m going to rest.
And by rest I mean carry on preparing for our two August shows – which you can book tickets for here.
