Comedy magic street show · Adelaide, Australia

From rags to mild success.

The Edinburgh one

Street editionFree. There is a hat.

The Daily Pitch

Adelaide, AustraliaSixteen countries and countingWeather: outdoors

Bio

Local man throws playing cards. Quite far.

Sammy mid-throw on a cobbled square in Bamberg
Sammy, mid-throw, on the cobbles in Bamberg, Germany.
  1. Sammy is a comedy magician.
  2. He was made in Grafton, a small town somewhere between Sydney and Brisbane.
  3. He moved to Adelaide at 18 and learnt to hold a crowd in Rundle Mall, mostly out of desperation.
  4. In 2014 he won the Australian Street Entertainment Championships.
  5. He throws playing cards. Quite far. Mostly on purpose.
  6. The show runs 30 to 45 minutes and works for every age.
  7. There is a lime. Nobody knows why until the end.
  8. He has done this in 16 countries.
  9. All Sammy wants to do is perform. He is performing well.

2The Daily PitchReviews

Accolades and reviews

The critics have been. They liked it.

"A disarming, humble and charismatic master of his craft."

The Wee Review, Edinburgh

"The perfect blend of magic, comedy, and just outright weirdness."

Fringefeed, Perth

"Absurd comedy and dazzling magic meet, with card throwing stunts."

Auckland International Buskers Festival

Honours

  • Australian Street Entertainment Champion2014
  • Headliner, Auckland International Buskers Festival2024
  • Selected for the first FISM Street Magic World ChampionshipTurin, 2025
  • Best Magic, Adelaide Fringefor his theatre shows as Sam King

ScreenThe Daily Pitch3

Watch the show

Street show caught on camera

The street reel, 1:48. Tap the picture to play it.
Also showing: the Edinburgh one, 2:11.

Programmers: a full, uncut 37-minute show from the Royal Mile is ready to send. Just ask.

4The Daily PitchWorld

Where he's played

Sixteen countries. Same chalk circle.

A huge crowd sitting on the cobbles around Sammy's pitch in Bamberg
Bamberg, Germany
Sammy at the night of street artists in Burghausen
Burghausen, Germany
A packed crowd on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh
The Royal Mile, Edinburgh
A crowd several people deep around a street show in Shanghai
Shanghai, China
An evening crowd by the lake in Queenstown with the mountains behind
Queenstown, New Zealand
Sammy performing to a crowd under the columns at Covent Garden
Covent Garden, London
Sammy walking in the opening parade at Festival Fantastika in Freistadt
Festival Fantastika, Austria

Photos from street shows around the world. The crowds are real. So is the chalk.

ListingsThe Daily Pitch5

Festivals

On the bill at

Sammy in a big circle of people in Bamberg
A Saturday afternoon in Bamberg.
  • Edinburgh Fringestreet pitches since 2014
  • Auckland International Buskers Festival2024
  • Busker Tour Poland2023, four cities
  • Nacht der StraßenkünstlerBurghausen, 2022
  • Festival FantastikaFreistadt, Austria
  • Adelaide FringeAustralia
  • FRINGE WORLDPerth

6The Daily PitchPress

For festivals and press

Photos and bios

For programmes, posters and websites. Everything is hi-res and free to use with the credit shown.

Festival photos, hi-res Studio headshots Download the trailer

Sammy smiling, wand in hand, Bamberg Sammy in a big circle of people in Bamberg Sammy at night in Burghausen Sammy at Covent Garden

Short bio 52 words

Sammy Showtime is the street show of Adelaide comedy magician Sam King. He started busking in Rundle Mall at 18, won the Australian Street Entertainment Championships in 2014, and has since played streets and festivals in 16 countries. Expect card throwing, quick jokes and a lime that turns up where it shouldn't.

Long bio 133 words

Sammy Showtime is the street show of Sam King, a comedy magician from Adelaide, Australia. He grew up in Grafton, moved to Adelaide at 18 and taught himself to hold a crowd in Rundle Mall, mostly out of desperation. It worked. In 2014 he won the Australian Street Entertainment Championships, and the show has since taken him to streets and festivals in 16 countries, from the Royal Mile in Edinburgh to Shanghai, Bamberg, Queenstown and Covent Garden. He was a headliner at the 2024 Auckland International Buskers Festival and his theatre shows have won Best Magic at the Adelaide Fringe. The show is dry, quick and a little absurd, with card throwing, plenty of audience help and a lime nobody sees coming. It works for every age and almost every patch of ground.

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Bookings

Book him

Running a street festival, buskers festival or public event? Drop a note in the hat and Sam will get back to you, usually within a day.

Or just email sam@samkingmagician.com.au

Sammy sitting cross-legged, holding his hat open

A note for the hat