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A Chat With Sam See, The Brains Behind 'Government Approved Sex'
After a decade performing stand-up, comedian Sam See, 30, is leaving our shores for the United Kingdom. But not before pulling off one last hurrah: a sex education workshop-turned-comedy show called Government Approved Sex, making its full debut in Singapore this Friday, 17 November.
And not only did it pass the government censorship board, it originated from a government-commissioned educational panel Sam ran three years ago.
"It all started in early 2020, just before the pandemic," Sam told us in an interview. "I was approached by the National Library Board and people from the government to run a 10-week panel course about sex and love. And each week we covered a different topic. And once we came out with it in the pandemic, I really enjoyed that series, and I wanted to write a show about this to hopefully cover sex education, because I know it's woefully inadequate around the world, much less Singapore."
If you've ever had to sit through a sex ed panel at school, well, we know what you’re thinking: sex ed can be... intentionally comedic? How detailed is this going to be?
Check out the teaser below and decide for yourself:
Could I take my grandma to this? I ask Sam. He chuckles, then answers in the affirmative.
"Yes. I would say absolutely bring the grandparents," he says. "There will be some points when they're gonna scowl and go, does he have to be that crude? But I think at the heart of it, the message at the end of the day is something that anyone of any background, age group or gender orientation or sexual orientation can genuinely appreciate."
At any rate, the show isn’t just about the "mechanics" of copulation.
"I realised that besides [sex education], I had a genuine love story that happened throughout that period of time," he says, recalling the process of turning the panel course into a comedy show. "So I wanted to weave in both the education of what can be learned and of what I learnt going through a love story at the time."
"So, contrary to the name and the posters and everything, it's actually, at the heart of it, about love and emotions, and how we deal with them. It’s a show that has been described as - not tooting my own horn - surprisingly endearing as a comedy show, which I do appreciate."
In an announcement video posted on his social media, Sam shared that this will be his last major show in Singapore before he packs his bags for the UK in December.
"This is a decision that's not been made lightly," he told his followers. "I have done a lot in both Singapore and the Southeast Asia comedy scene. I've played in every possible country in the region, except for Mongolia (the one that got away!). I've run open mics, showcases, festivals, and comedy clubs. I've poured a lot of my blood, sweat, and tears into making comedy bigger, better, and brighter for both audiences and performers... After doing what I could for the scene, I gotta do what I can for myself, and that means closing my time here in Asia, the only way I know how: with a show about sex."
"Government Approved Sex" has enjoyed successful runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Any qualms about performing it back home?
I'm definitely nervous and excited about it because this is a show I performed to many people in over six different countries and for over 50 performances, to more than thousands of people around the world. And it's something I'm very proud of as a performer. Of course, I am naturally nervous of performing it back home to people who might see this, first of all, as a show about sex education, which we are already very squeamish about, and also, a show that is not your typical stand-up show in Singapore, where I'm not doing your classic style of Singapore humour as it is now.
And I'm definitely nervous about that. But I'm hoping that the time I've spent honing this show can be seen. And the Singaporeans that come who might not normally come to my shows or stand-up shows in general, will do me a solid, and give it a chance. It is a good show. I think I'm also at a point of a creator where I'm like, if you don't like the show, then it's fine. It's just not for you. But if anyone says it's a bad show, I can happily go, nah, you're wrong. It's just not your taste. It’s a good show.
Did you have to tweak it at all before bringing it here? Or are you performing it wholesale?
I'm bringing it wholesale. There are maybe one or two references that have to change, but other than that, the only thing that changes in the entire show is maybe two lines. And those two lines take less than 15 seconds.
Speaking of Singapore humour, how would you describe it, as someone who’s been doing comedy both locally and internationally for a decade?
Singapore humour sometimes can be very insular. Like, if you ever go to a comedy club, sometimes you can see some of the expats are sitting there looking kind of bored for an hour ‘cause you are only gonna know this if you know the local slang, or here's a local swear, or here's a local reference. So sometimes I feel Singapore humour can be a bit too inward-looking, and it's a little bit stuck in an age. We haven't really gone forward with it. A lot of the mainstream humour has not been pushing for it. Thankfully, I feel, in the last 10 years in the realm of stand-up, we've had much more progressive pushes into more unique, and a more international style of humour.
Tell us more about that - are younger generations of Singaporeans becoming more aware, or is the sense of humour the same throughout?
The tail end of millennials and early Gen Z audiences have been amazing to work with in Singapore because they understand everything. They have a great grasp of the world, and especially humour. Whereas with older audiences, explaining sarcasm and irony is ironically hard. They want the humour one way, and that is the humour they were raised with, which is very classic jokes that you would see in a joke book where, unfortunately, sometimes a minority is the target, or a gross stereotype has been used.
It sounds like sometimes you have to explain a joke so that people get it. Yet also, as the younger generation comes of age, that Singaporean humour has evolved.
That's also the issue of Singapore culture. We're still very much developing. We can’t claim to know what Singapore culture is as a country that’s less than a hundred years old. As a country of immigrants, a lot of things from our culture are borrowed from other cultures. [For example], we can say [our hawker culture] is something, but anyone can argue that Southeast Asia is full of hawkers.
So what is Singapore comedy? I think right now it's a nascent thing. I'm hoping as time goes by, it develops with our younger generation, which is both taking cues from Western culture, but also keeping the roots and the truth in Asian culture.
I know that a lot of your humour centres on everyday experiences. Among the most Singaporean of these is our National Service, which is constantly mined for comedy. What about it is so funny?
I think the reason NS is such comedic fare is that well, 50% of our population has gone through it, and a hundred percent of our population are affected by it. I mean, we all know men who are still living in the glory days of National Service.
What was your own NS experience like?
My time in National Service was unfortunately very short-lived. I was only in National Service for six months as a PES E soldier before I was discharged as a PES F soldier. So I spent most of my time as a clerk. And what my time in National Service taught me was that I can’t do a 9 to 5 job. I’m the kind of guy who will work 24 hours, 30 days a month, and I’ll work throughout, but I can’t be kind who is be here at this time because I just work differently. And we all do. That taught me that hey, not all of us are a certain way, and some of us are just better in other situations.
And a fascinating thing I learnt in National Service is that ah bengs are fun. Ah bengs are the nicest people in the world. From my experience, it was a lot of the upper middle class people that were absolutely terrible human beings!
IMAGE: FACEBOOK/@MRSAMSEE
Before you leave our shores, what are some of your thoughts on the future of the comedy scene in Singapore?
I think we have a lot of new talents on the local scene that are growing and changing. I think, whether they are committed to either being only for locals, or being for internationals, they have to make a choice right now because we do not have the luxury of blending the two. They either have to be able to play for local markets or just get ready to move [to other] countries like I did.
There's nothing wrong with either option. Both options can bring a lot of success and a lot of joy. I've seen it in everyone and myself. But it is making that decision and choosing wisely and understanding that you can't have the best of both worlds. For the longest time, I've always wanted to be on a big show here, or be on a proper TV show in Singapore - it was one of my dreams. Sometimes, some dreams don't come true. And that's okay. You can always make new ones.
That’s both sobering and wise. Is there anything Singaporeans can do to be more supportive of local comedians? What can we do as audience members?
Buy tickets for a show. Come down to watch it, and give it a bash. I see people who come to these shows and they just stare, gawk-eyed, and you can tell they're not listening. They're just waiting for what they want to show up. People literally ask me, "When's Kumar coming on?" And I'm like, that's not what the show is. Stop being so stubborn and demanding things. You don’t have control, just embrace what you have. And if you don't like it, that's okay, but give it a chance first.
Be accepting, be receptive to new experiences and new ideas. And don't just wait till somebody tells you something is cool. You decide when it's cool. Not anybody else.
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