Wed. June 11, 2025
Ricky Sim brings his one-man comedy show, Coming Out To Dead People, to Chicago for one night only: Saturday, June 14th at The Annoyance, starting at 7 p.m.
Following sold-out shows in the UK and New York, Coming Out To Dead People is a chaotic stand-up about growing up as a gaysian immigrant in New York and coming-out to his conservative Chinese Malaysian mom just as she was diagnosed with cancer.
Combining stand-up and storytelling, Ricky’s autobiographical hour explores grief, secrets and queer joy. Coming Out To Dead People chronicles growing up as a gaysian in New York, learning how to keep his first boyfriend with the help of rapper Sean Paul, and navigating the complexity of coming out alongside the intersection of racial and cultural identity.
Sim, now in his late 30s and living in Flushing Queens, New York, said his coming-out was “complicated because I was ‘pushed out’ of the closet at a time when my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and the concept of homosexuality was quite new to my traditional Chinese-Malaysian family,” he said. “So, throughout the time my family and I were struggling with the question of (if) should we tell mom who’s already dealing with enough pain and agony from cancer and leaving the world, or should we just let her leave blissfully ignorant.
“Is my coming out when my mom was dying of cancer, really for me or for her?”
Now married, Sim said he is excited for the Chicago show and added that attendees should expect a lot of laughter. “Hopefully audience members can leave the show with different take aways of grief and acceptance,” he said.
This is Sim’s first show in Chicago. In fact, it will be his first time in Chicago.
“The title (of the show) encapsulates the intersections of queer identity and grief, with a bit of humor. It conveys the sentiment of not coming out in time, when people were alive,” he said. “The show explores the complexity of coming out when it intersects with immigrant and cultural identities and facing impending loss. There are both specific and universal components to the show - in that even though the show is about a Chinese Malaysian gay man who tries to come out to his immigrant mother in Flushing Queens - there’s the universal mortality question related to mortality and grief that the show explores.”
Coming Out To Dead People had a month-long run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe where he received Off-West End Finalist nominations and more.
The Off-West End Soho Theatre saw the show in Edinburgh and invited Sim to bring the show to London for a run, which delivered sold-out shows.
He also had shows at the NYC Soho Playhouse and he will be debuting at NYC’s Off Broadway Joe’s Pub in July.
Sim said the Chicago show will have more theatrical components than in Edinburgh, London or New York.
“For the show, I am trying to weave both the long-form comedic storytelling and the short-form comedy club stand-up jokes to construct the entire show – to have both set-up/punchlines without missing the storytelling essence of beginning-middle-and-end / to have jokes without compromising the emotional heaviness of the topics the show is trying to touch on,” Sim said.
“Although racial identity in American could be very generalized and broad, cultural ties and identity is usually where I find my jokes and story inspiration from,” he said. “Although this show is quite personal, through my experiences of doing the show, many people have come up to me and said how much they feel seen by the stories I shared.
“That is one of the most rewarding parts of doing the show, that people can feel connected to the story and it can help them feel less alone while also laughing.”
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