Ricky Sims Brings COMING OUT TO DEAD PEOPLE to Soho Theatre

New York City-based stand-up comedian, storyteller and one-man tour-de-force   Ricky Sim brings his critically acclaimed debut hour ‘Coming Out To Dead People' to London's Soho Theatre from 22nd – 24th January. The Asian Queer comedy about secrets taken to the grave has come off the back of a run at the Edinburgh Fringe. 

 

‘Coming Out to Dead People' is an OFFFEST-nominated autobiographical comedy solo show written and performed by Ricky and based on his experience when he was a closeted gay teenager immigrating to the US with his mother, shortly before his mother's diagnosis of cancer. Combining stand-up and storytelling, the show explores his time growing up as a gaysian in the noughties, learning how to keep his first boyfriend with the help of the reggae rapper Sean Paul, while grappling with the decision to come out to his conservative Chinese-Malaysian mother.  The show navigates the complexity of coming out when it intersects with racial and cultural identity and facing impending loss, forces Ricky to reconcile the two worlds he grew up in, and to question the meanings of grief, family love, and acceptance.  

 

Ricky has performed ‘Coming Out to Dead People' to sell out audiences across New York, Kuala Lumpur, and was included in the “Ultimate List of LGBTQ Shows at Edinburgh Fringe” by Forbes and was a Top 20 Best Shows To See' by The Herald. He has opened for Julia Scotti (America's Got Talent) and Marcia Belsky (Comedy Central) and was featured in New York Comedy Festival, New York Queer Comedy Festival, and Asian Comedy Festival. 

 

Ricky Sim (he/him) is a lawyer-turned-comedian originally from Kuala Lumpur and is currently living with his partner in New York City. As somebody being born with cleft-palate and a gay immigrant who grew up in a working-class neighbourhood of Queens NY, Ricky is passionate about writing and highlighting complex stories and struggles that are usually underrepresented in the mainstream media.  

 

As a comedy writer, Ricky was selected to be the 2021 recipient of The PIT/Saturday Night Live (SNL) Scholarship, which is co-sponsored by Saturday Night Live. With the comedy pilot that he co-wrote, he was selected as the 2023 Fellow of the Yes And…Laughter Lab, which is a competitive incubation lab, pitch program and showcase that lifts up the best comedy writers and performers who create new comedy about topics that matter, with a focus on BIPOC, immigrant, Muslim, LGBTQ, and female talent.  

 

Ryan Cunningham (Director): (she/her) is a queer Emmy & Peabody award-winning producer & director. Directing credits: Sugar Daddy (SoHo Playhouse/Soho Theatre), Club Cumming Presents a Queer Comedy Extravaganza! (Showtime) hosted by Alan Cumming, Ilana Glazer: The Planet is Burning (Amazon), Expecting Amy (HBO Max), and the upcoming feature Lone Wolves. TV Producing credits: Broad City, Search Party, Inside Amy Schumer & Ziwe.

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