“The show is all about a friendship I had with my school gardener,” he explains. “We used to trade Phantom comics, and that isas weird as it sounds. In writing the show, I had to do a lot of research by going through old school diaries, scrapbooks and things like that. All these new things started presenting themselves along the way. It’s a bit of a mystery story, too. This gardener disappeared from my school and then re-emerged years later. It’s been a really fun process. I had the idea about three years ago, but it was only this year that the free time to complete the show presented itself.”
Hero Complex arrives at an interesting juncture for McMillan, who has spent the majority of the last few years working with long-time collaborator Randy Feltface, a purple puppet who can’t shake his hanger-on mate Heath McIvor. He’s had a mix of bad luck – the duo’s television show not getting picked up for a second season, a cancelled run of their festival show Sammy J and Randy Land due to ongoing illness – as well as unexpected viral success as part of the web series Playground Politics in which Sammy took on hot-button Australian political issues through a Play School-esque lens.
“I genuinely thought it would be something that flew under the radar, but it kind of took on a life of its own,” he says. “I had to step up and make sure that the episodes were up to scratch and good quality. It was crazy that I was writing songs in the morning, knowing that they would be up online by the end of the day. It was pretty nuts, to be honest.”
Throughout his work on stage and television, McMillan has been somewhat of a self-titled character – Sammy J as played by Sammy J, if you will. With Hero Complex, the lines blur a little as the real-life events unfurl. “This is definitely the most personal show that I’ve made,” he says. “In the show, I talk about my family a lot, which is quite different to how I’ve written shows in the past. When I’m performing with Randy, that’s definitely a character. On my own, I’m given more of a chance to just be myself. I’m allowed to let a little honesty in. It’s the same type of comedy at work, just in a different form.”
BY DAVID JAMES YOUNG
Venue: Northcote Town Hall – Studio 1
Dates: September 15 – October 1 (except Mondays)
Time: 8pm (Sundays 7pm)
Tickets: $25 – $32
