Sammy J in the Forest of Dreams

Any pretensions the audience hold that Sammy J in the Forest of Dreams might be as quaint and jolly as the name suggests is ruthlessly dismissed with the heartfelt opening song, 'Fuck You Disney.' Sammy J, you see, is a skinny Australian comic with a penchant for musical interludes, and his Forest of Dreams is a hilarious parody of Disney fairy tales such as Shrek and The Lion King. Oh, and all the other characters in the show are puppets.

Our protagonist, Sammy J, arrives in the Forest of Dreams through a magic portal (represented by a blue lightbulb – no expense spared) to be greeted by a foul-mouthed talking tree. So it goes. In fact, with the exception of Sammy J's lovable and hopelessly naïve best buddy Farlow, the entire show is incredibly vulgar. It never seems excessively rude though, instead the profanity feels gloriously naughty when set in the context of a fairy tale.

Unsurprisingly the sell out Underbelly crowd lapped up this gleefully cheeky lampoon, filling in all the requisite “ahhhs”, “oohs” and “boos” that a fairy tale battle between good and evil demands. Meanwhile the musical numbers are pulled off with aplomb, including an excellent Les Miserables parody when Sammy J leads the critters in revolution against their berry-hoarding King. This is a wonderfully skilful and affectionate spoofing of the fairy tale genre: naughty and occasionally merciless in its mockery, but retaining all the warmth and goodwill of a real fairy tale.