Milton Jones // Lion Whisperer Live

October 29th, 2011

Rarely can comedians explode onto the scene in such a manner as Milton Jones. Maintaining an act based almost completely on one-line gags might seem to be an impossible task, and for many comedians it proves as such. But, Milton manages to achieve such a feat through his abstract humour and distinctive personality to captivate an audience and keep them laughing throughout his routine.

Lion Whisperer is Milton’s second live stand-up DVD, but he is more commonly known for his television appearances on popular shows including BBC’s Mock the Week and Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow. This performance comes from London’s Bloomsbury Theatre as part of his extended Lion Whisperer tour running from 2010 into 2011.

Milton is well known for his “My other Grandfather…” jokes, and the DVD opens with a scene where he plays the part of his grandfather. This bizarre scene sets the stage for Milton’s generally quirky routine, although it also points at the intelligent construction of his act to tie in several jokes throughout his show.

Milton’s one-liners demonstrate his careful observations and command of language as a lot of his routine involves twisting commonly used words and phrases into alternative meanings: some of which are pure genius. Often it is the case that certain jokes require a bit of thought to understand, but that’s only a testament to his skills to skew the norm of speech into his obscure interpretations of life. However, in the main he ensures that his material is accessible to his whole audience, although at times those of different ages may get more from particular jokes than others.

He continues his grandfather routine by entering the character onto the stage for a segment of his show. Hobbling on with his trolley, the grandfather character is used to give a different angle to his comedy; reading from his book of time is the main gag of this section. The use of this character is a ploy by Jones to break up his usual narrative of a script to ensure that his routine does not stray into the realm of tedium; of which there is some potential when basing an entire show around short, snappy jokes.

Another break he uses later in the show, is to bring an overhead projector onto the stage and reel of a series of jokes accompanied by visual aids where applicable. The random, yet brilliant nature of his pictorial gags further emphasise his unique style of comedy which is well complimented by his vivacious personality: bright shirts, wild hair and all!

Although his act has become more main-stream only recently, Milton builds his routine on a wealth of experience. His 15 year career, spanning from his Perrier ‘Best Newcomer’ Award in 1996 to winning the 2011 Chortle Awards ‘Best Headliner’ prize, culminates in a well-refined and spectacularly funny show for the DVD: due for release on 21st November 2011.

Words > Chris Morris

Tags: Lion Whisperer, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, Milton Jones, Mock the Week