Headliners Comedy Club: George IV pub, Chiswick, London, 2016
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2017
Banana Cabaret: The Bedford Arms, Balham, London, 2017
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2020
Michael McIntyre: Greatest Hits and Best Bits (support): Leicester Square, London, 2021
Paul Tonkinson is an enormously well-established, very funny, Northern comedian who is a devotee of the comedy circuit. I have seen him perform twenty-minute sets ion four different occasions where he was extremely familiar and very likeable on stage expertly working the crowds.
The comedian’s self-assured, strong-willed delivery radiated an irresistible enthusiasm where his quick-witted comic mind thrived. In the sets I saw, he talked about the north-south divide, along with the trials of fatherhood and long-term relationships. The pessimistic, yet uplifting Yorkshireman brought the material to life with his determined performances and brilliant humour.
The comic was top of the bill at Always Be Comedy in February 2020. With his weary drawl and face made for comedy, Tonkinson delivered a routine of supreme quality talking about his wife and children growing up in Northern England. A superb visual comedian, he produced characters by developing his facial features that were instantly recognisable and hysterically funny to the audience. I have been a big fan of this superb comedian for years. A joy to always talk to as we did before his set, it is always a delight to see him on a bill and he was a wonderful and deserved headliner displaying a masterclass of brilliant comedy.
Tonkinson supported Michael McIntyre for a warm up show at the Leicester Square Theatre in November 2021 where he described his experiences of family life during lockdown. His facial expressions and brilliant visual comedy was hysterical and I look forward to seeing him again very soon.