Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2017
Bearcat Comedy at The Viaduct: The Viaduct pub, Hanwell, London, 2018
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2019
Headliners Comedy Mayfest: George IV pub, Chiswick, London, 2021
Ealing Comedy Festival: Walpole Park, Ealing, London, 2022
Headliners Comedy Club: George IV pub, Chiswick, London, 2023
Ealing Comedy Festival 2023: Walpole Park, Ealing, London, 2023
Collywobblers Comedy Presents Comedy @ Sambrook’s Brewery: Sambrook’s Brewery, Wandsworth, London, 2023
Headliners Comedy Club: George IV pub, Chiswick, London, 2024
I first came across Jeff Innocent when he headlined Always Be Comedy in 2017. Voted Best Club Comedian of the Year in 2016, as he says in his act, his East End Cockney appearance makes him look like he has just wandered onto the stage from the audience, but the extremely funny man has been at the top of the comedy circuit for years and delivered effortless audience banter and relentlessly funny stories about growing up in London and family life with ease. Innocent’s original, unique, and razor-sharp wit is amazing, he is faultless and fearless at making people laugh and is a master at his craft.
Innocent headlined Bearcat Comedy at The Viaduct when I went along to the monthly showcase in October 2018 and again at Always Be Comedy in February 2019. Now in his sixties, Innocent has a very funny face for comedy and his stage appearance resembled a Cockney old boy straight out of a British gangster film – immediately making the audience laugh before he even said anything.
The natural stand-up showed the audience his metal after having played the clubs for years. He delivered his extremely funny jokes with confidence and style completely taking control of the room. The cockney comedian’s cultural comment the UK’s North / South divide, age and race went down a storm.
Innocent returned to live comedy in May 2021 for Headliners Comedy Mayfest, and I saw him again as a superb guest for Ealing Comedy Festival in July 2022. Delivering twenty-minute sets, he absolutely stormed the rooms with a barrage of stories about stereotypical characters and his life in lockdown.
The comedian played Headliners Comedy Club once again in January 2023 delighting the audience with his superb style of humour and piercing wit. I met him after the gig, and it was wonderful to chat about how well the Jeff Innocent Comedy Academy was doing aspiring new comedians with over twenty-years’ experience. He gave another comedy masterclass when he was a guest for the Ealing Comedy Festival 2023 that I watched in July, again in October 2023 for Comedy @ Sambrook’s Brewery.
In January 2024, he topped the bill once again at Headliners Comedy Club with an achingly funny set about his family, in preparation for his new Smart, Casual tour. The set was so good, it earned a standing ovation.
Having met him on numerous occasions, Innocent is a very warm, sincere, funny man, as well as being a truly great comedian. He is highly recommended.