Sugar, grief and a lot of laughs: Sam Morrison brings Sugar Daddy to Soho

There are comedy shows that make you laugh. There are theatre pieces that make you reflect. And then there are rare performances that somehow manage to do both at the same time, leaving audiences laughing one minute and quietly wiping away a tear the next. Sugar Daddy, the new solo show by American comedian Sam Morrison, sits firmly in that category.

I met Morrison inside the intimate and atmospheric Underbelly Boulevard Soho, where the show has landed for a five-week Off-West End run. The venue, tucked right in the beating heart of Soho, feels perfectly suited to the kind of storytelling Morrison does: close, personal, and full of unexpected turns.

Fresh from rehearsal, Morrison is energetic, quick-witted and instantly charming. It doesn’t take long before the jokes start flowing, beginning with observations about navigating London itself.

“I’m learning a lot about the culture,” Morrison laughs. “But I’m definitely saying everything wrong. People keep telling me these train station names and they get more and more ridiculous. It feels like people are just making them up.”

The room quickly fills with laughter. It’s clear that humour is Morrison’s natural language - but behind the jokes lies a story that is far more personal.

Click to watch our full interview with Sam Morrison:

A Story Morrison Never Planned to Tell

Sugar Daddy tells a deeply personal story Morrison never expected - or even wanted - to turn into a show. One summer in Provincetown, Morrison fell in love with what he jokingly describes as the “silver zaddy” of his dreams. What began as a joyful romance soon turned into something far more complicated. Months later, during the pandemic, Morrison lost that partner to COVID.

From the outside, that might sound like the beginning of a conventional grief narrative. But Sugar Daddy refuses to sit quietly inside that box. Instead, Morrison’s story veers wildly through moments that are funny, absurd and completely unexpected: seagull attacks, New York muggings, awkward encounters with Jehovah’s Witnesses, and even a surprise diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes.

It’s messy, human, and deeply honest - exactly the kind of storytelling that resonates with audiences who understand that grief rarely follows a neat script.

Comedy as a Survival Tool

When I ask Morrison about mixing humour with something as heavy as loss, the answer comes naturally.

“I didn’t really set out to mix those things,” Morrison explains. “I’m a comedian, and this happened to me. So I started writing about it.” Over time, the material evolved into something bigger than a stand-up set.

“Sometimes it felt really special,” Morrison says. “And sometimes it didn’t. But eventually I realised it could become a show.”

Humour, Morrison admits, can be a powerful way of processing grief - but it isn’t always straightforward.

“At times it can be unbelievably profound and cathartic,” Morrison reflects. “And at other times you realise you need to step away from it for a bit. People process things in all kinds of ways, and art is just one of them.”

That honesty is part of what makes Sugar Daddy so compelling. It doesn’t pretend that laughter fixes everything. Instead, it acknowledges the complicated ways people survive heartbreak.

From Stand-Up Stages to the Theatre

Before Sugar Daddy, Morrison was already well established in the world of stand-up comedy. Appearances on Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Drew Barrymore Show, and Comedy Central have helped build a loyal following. Morrison was also an NBC Stand-Up finalist and named a “One To Watch” at the Just for Laughs comedy festival.

But this show marks a shift from traditional stand-up into something more theatrical. Over a tightly crafted 75 minutes, Morrison blends storytelling, performance and stand-up precision into a piece that feels both intimate and expansive.

And Morrison isn’t doing it alone. The show has attracted an impressive group of supporters, including co-producers Alan Cumming and Billy Porter — two of the most influential queer performers working today. For Morrison, the collaboration still feels surreal.

“It’s unbelievable,” Morrison tells me. “I’ve been a fan of them my whole life. They’re real queer icons, and they’ve done so much for our community. The fact that they even saw the show is kind of mind-boggling.” Porter himself has described the show in one perfectly succinct word: “BAWDY.”

The Perfect London Stage

The London run of Sugar Daddy is directed by Christopher Renshaw Al-Kadhi, who brings a thoughtful theatrical eye to Morrison’s story. Under the direction, the show explores how grief reshapes a life - and how creativity can grow from loss.

Producers Alan Cumming, Billy Porter, Ryan Cunningham, Score 3 Partners, Michael Price, and David Treatman Creative have all helped bring the production to the stage, alongside lead producer Dale A. Mott of Edgewood Entertainment.

Edgewood Entertainment focuses on developing theatre that highlights underrepresented voices and emotionally resonant storytelling - something Sugar Daddy embodies perfectly. And the venue itself adds to the experience.

Underbelly Boulevard Soho is compact, stylish and just a little dramatic - exactly the kind of theatre where every laugh echoes and every pause carries weight.

“It’s such a gorgeous space,” Morrison says. “The audience is so close that the laughs bounce around the room.” There’s even a balcony.

“I love a balcony,” Morrison grins. “If the joke bombs I can just look up there and be like, ‘You guys think they’re being crazy too, right?’”

A Show for the Queer Community

For LGBTQ audiences, Morrison’s story carries an extra layer of meaning.

Loss, love and resilience are themes deeply woven into queer history. Whether through the AIDS crisis, the pandemic, or simply navigating life in a world that hasn’t always been welcoming, queer communities know how powerful shared stories can be. And that’s exactly what Sugar Daddy offers.

It’s not just a story about grief. It’s a story about survival, connection, and the strange ways humour helps people keep moving forward.

An Invitation to Laugh - and Feel

As our conversation wraps up, Morrison is warm, generous, and clearly excited to share the show with British audiences.

For a story that began with heartbreak, Sugar Daddy ultimately feels like an act of resilience - one that refuses to separate joy from sadness.

Instead, Morrison places them side by side, exactly where they often exist in real life. And perhaps that’s why the show resonates so deeply. Because sometimes the best way to face life’s most difficult moments is exactly the way Morrison does it: with honesty, a little chaos, and a lot of laughter.

Sugar Daddy runs for five weeks at Underbelly Boulevard Soho in London.For more information and updates, audiences can follow the show on Instagram and Facebook: @_sugardaddyshow.