Sam Zito is Happy Either Way as he brings his debut solo comedy to Fringe

A great addition to Fringe World’s 2026 comedy offering, Sam Zito returns to Perth as a part of his national tour with Sam Zito: I’m Happy Either Way, bringing his unique style of humour to the stage. The comedy troupe veteran and social media heavyweight brings a whole new hour of laughs to festival audiences in various venues across Perth and Fremantle from Sunday, February 8, to Sunday, February 15, with tickets on sale now. BEC WELDON sat down with Sam Zito to talk about his journey to Fringe World, dragging a saxophone he couldn’t play around the world, and how many times you can say “I’m fine” before people stop believing you.

Hey Sam, thanks for joining us to talk about your show! This isn’t your first time on a Perth stage, having performed at the Astor, but is this your first Fringe World festival?

Yes, it’s my first time performing at Fringe World, and I’m very keen. Also, it’s my first ever solo show in Perth! I have only really opened for people like Blake Pavey and done a sketch show in Perth. Both were at the Astor Theatre.

That’s so exciting! You’re bringing your show Sam Zito: I’m Happy Either Way to Perth as a part of a national tour. How has it been going so far?

Honestly, really great! So far I’ve done two shows in Geelong, one of which sold out, which was so great, but actually a real highlight was the one in Bendigo. There was this couple who I spoke to after the show who had driven four hours to see me; they even stayed in a motel, which was crazy! They said it was more than worth it, but I still bought them a beer, which probably doesn’t cover their petrol price. After Perth, I have Melbourne, Sydney, and then Adelaide. The reception to the tour so far has been amazing, and I appreciate all the support from people who have bought tickets.

It sounds like a great show! Your show description boasts a range of themes and topics; what can audiences expect from the show?

I talk about a kind of mental breakdown I had a few years ago, like my experience in a psych ward and struggles with getting a diagnosis, which I know sounds really heavy, but actually, I kind of remember and reflect on that process now that I’m in a good place and have a much better headspace. You can see the humour in serious things that happen to you later on… with hindsight, once you’re okay. I have to keep telling the audience that I am actually fine now before diving into things, but I’ve noticed the more times in a row you say you’re fine, the less okay you sound. By the fifth “I’m fine”, the crowd actually doesn’t believe me.

Speaking of mental health, you’ve also partnered with a great organisation for the tour. Can you tell us about the partnership and how it came about?

I just basically thought I’d give a percentage of the earnings of each ticket sale towards Beyond Blue, set up on my website. I used to look towards them and Headspace when I was going through it, though both the Beyond Blue website and the Headspace app have some great resources when you’re struggling or just wanting to check in with your mental health!

That’s a fantastic cause! Were there any jokes from the show that didn’t make the cut or that you couldn’t fit in?

Yeah, a few. I just feel like earlier in my stand-up career there were many jokes about dating, and now that I have developed my style and what I want to talk about, I have cut a decent amount of that. I am in a loving relationship now also, and there’s nothing funny about that—she’ll be reading this.

You’ve been doing stand-up for three years but have found a lot of success in that time, including sold-out shows and impressive opening gigs—can you share some of the highlights of the journey so far?

Probably doing this show for the first time at Melbourne Comedy Fest. I really enjoyed going from five- to ten-minute spots to being on stage for fifty minutes. It was great fun; I feel like I got a lot better as a comedian, and that’s what I have wanted to do for a while.

And you’re also fresh off an international sketch comedy tour with Live Nation; can you share the experience of the tour?

The tour was great fun, basically a sketch show, a theatre show, involving many costume changes and some instruments. I played the saxophone terribly; that was part of the bit. We toured around Australia, New Zealand and England. So I brought a saxophone around that I didn’t even know how to play. I am glad to no longer have to carry that everywhere, and I’ll just be bringing myself to Perth Fringe World for my stand-up show.

You’re also a founding member of the comedy sketch group Swag on the Beat. What inspired the troupe?

We went to school together and were all pretty creative. A few years after school finished, we started making videos online for fun and didn’t think anything of it. A few went viral. It gave us some confidence to keep posting and do some other comedy-adjacent endeavours like hosting, MCing and writing. I started doing stand-up on the side whilst I was in the group. Now I do stand-up full-time and am loving it!

Branching out as a solo act after Swag on the Beat, how did you adjust or change your approach to performing?

A lot more live performances—I hit the mics pretty hard and wrote a lot, and eventually started to get better and better gigs. I had a lot of support from Luke Kidgell and Blake Pavey from opening to getting gigs, and also just generally believing in myself.

You also maintain a pretty active social media presence with Instagram shorts of your routines and audiences’ moments. How would you describe the world of online comedy, and is it markedly different from live comedy?

I definitely enjoy stand-up and live performances a lot more than online sketches. Sketches are great fun, and collaborating with other comedians is amazing, but I feel like in the back of my mind I have always wanted to be a stand-up comedian. It just feels a lot more rewarding creatively, I think.

The main difference is the number of gigs you have to do and stage time to develop presence and also know who you are on stage and what you actually want to talk about, I guess. Whereas, in social media sketches, you’re playing a character acting out a situation, and the situation might be funny or things happening around you, whereas with stand-up, you’re alone on stage. As well as the fact you can film, edit and post a sketch and it goes viral, whereas with stand-up, a good act and stage presence and persona take years and years to develop.

The Sydney Morning Herald has described you as having “exploded in popularity”. What a great review! What’s next for Sam Zito?

I really want to develop the show as much as possible and just push myself to get as good at stand-up as I can. I’ll also be opening for Blake and Luke again, in between touring my own shows, and you’ll still catch me doing spots around Melbourne most nights.

I’ve also been in a few talks about potentially developing a comedy series with some other comics, which would be sick. I’d love the chance to work on longer-format videos with ongoing characters and storylines and maybe, hopefully, pitch it to a network one day.

Sam Zito: I’m Happy Either Way hits various venues across Perth and Fremantle from Sunday, February 8, to Sunday, February 15, 2026. Tickets are on sale now from fringeworld.com.au