The Sammy J Guide to the Adelaide Fringe
In 2026, the Adelaide Fringe guide is an intimidating 176-pages long. Who has the time? Dear reader, certainly not you. Instead, let Sammy J guide you through the festival season, with his must-stop places in Adelaide.
CM: How many times have you performed at the Adelaide Fringe?
SJ: This is my 20th year here, and I’ve only missed a few years along the way. I think that makes me either a veteran or a sycophant.
What’s special about the Fringe compared to other events in Australia?
Audiences in Adelaide are notoriously open-minded and genuinely get behind new ideas. I always feel safe taking creative risks here. I extend that to my general life in Adelaide. For example, I’m known to start crossing the road when the little digital countdown’s down to three.
When you’re in Adelaide, where do you like to go for a drink?
Big straw, Torrens riverbank, lying on my tummy, leaning over the edge and guzzling it for real.
What about a nice dinner?
See answer above but replace straw with “fork” and Torrens riverbank with Adelaide Zoo Meerkat enclosure.
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How do you deal with hecklers?
It depends on whether they’re being cruel or not. I love a bit of jovial interaction, but if they’re being nasty, I tend to wait until after the show, follow them to the car park, then invite them to join me on a wild trip back in time to 2007 when I was playing to four people at the Rhino Room and then I make them stay by my side in real time for the next 19 years as they watch me slowly build up a comedy career, staring down the haters, rolling with the punches, working hard to refine my craft, until finally we catch up to the present moment of the show they just heckled me in and I let them make a better choice.
If they don’t, it’s back to 2007, and we repeat the process until they’ve learned.
What other show at the Fringe would you recommend?
So many great acts on this year. Lena Moon, the Burton Brothers, Frankie McNair, Gabbi Bolt, and of course my band The Grats, which features Tom Gleeson, Andrew Hansen, Gatesy, and Rusty Berther. It’s going to be wild.
Sammy J – Hero Complex is playing at the Garden of Unearthly Delights Spiegeltent until Sunday, March 1.
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