Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2016
Always Be Comedy (2 shows): The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2017
Always Be Comedy (2 shows): The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2018
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2019
Always Be Comedy Online (2 shows): Online: 2020
An Irishman Abroad Online Comedy Club: Online: 2020
Return of The Craic Online Comedy Club: Online: 2021
Always Be Comedy Online: Online: 2021 (5 shows)
Return of The Craic Online Comedy Club: Online: 2021
Always Be Comedy Online: Online: 2022
Always Be Comedy (4 shows): The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2022
Always Be Comedy: Sambrook’s Brewery, Wandsworth, London, 2022
Always Be Comedy (3 shows): The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2023
I saw Joe Wilkinson perform at Always Be Comedy on three occasions. The first time when he was appearing with Diane Morgan for the sketch revue ‘Mash’ included one of the routines I have ever seen at the comedy club. Morgan appeared on stage and then immediately came right up to my face as I was sitting in the front room and gave me the finger right in front of my face. This happened for five minutes and my laughter and the audience’s laughter gradually increased like a crescendo. At the perfectly timed moment, Wilkinson appeared on stage and whispered in her ear loudly enough for the crowd to hear ‘I told you that invisible cloak didn’t work!’ This is a brilliant example of Wilkinson’s off the wall, surreal humour.
The two times I watched him in 2017 were work in progress shows were he wildly experimented with visual jokes and bizarre and banal story creations and observations that the audience loved. Wilkinson is a genuinely warm and funny man with a unique talent.
Wilkinson returned to Always Be Comedy in February and April 2018 and then again in May 2019 where he gave three of his funniest, off-beat performances. Wilkinson is a recurring comedian at the club, and I have very much warmed to his bizarre style of comedy.
When Wilkinson saw me in a pub where after we had separately been in the audience for the solo show of Jarlath Regan that I saw at Leicester Square Theatre in London, Wilkinson was an ordinary, very friendly bloke. When he was on stage at Always Be Comedy, he was wonderfully odd and innocent that made him and his unusual sketches and musings very funny and endearing to the crowd.
Wilkinson was an ‘underlying’ special guest for two Always Be Comedy Online shows in July 2020. It was a wonderful surprise to see the bewildered comedian struggle with technology (inspired that his nose filled the whole screen for a lot of the set) and his seemingly made up anecdotes and readings were a joy to watch. There was also an inspired story involving a mermaid. It was a wonderful act that consistently made laugh.
The surreal comedian appeared for The Irishman Abroad Online Comedy Club in August 2020 where he included a brilliant routine which instead of featuring ‘I [heart] New York’ featured different parts of the body with cities. He then appeared for Return of The Craic Online Comedy Club in January 2021 with more surrealism.
Wilkinson made four online guest appearances for Always Be Comedy, twice in February, and twice in March 2021 and also for Return of The Craic in March 2021 and then more online for Always Be Comedy in November 2021 and January 2022. He performed live in February, April, September and November 2022 at Always Be Comedy in Kennington and at the new venue in Wandsworth in October 2022. All the performances in 2021 and 2022 built up the audience laughter when he read comic poems and extracts from his ‘autobiography’ which were so inspired, I was crying with laughter. I could genuinely listen to his wonderful ramblings all night.
With added props to make the stories even funnier, Wilkinson performed at Always Be Comedy in January 2023, September and October 2023. What was so impressive was that there was always a new bizarre and hysterical story ever time I see him live or online.
Wilkinson is a true original and a wonderful comedian. As an aside, I am extremely appreciative of the positive comments about this blog that he gave me when I met him after his sets.