Comedy: The Boy With Tape On His Face

…aka Sam Wills has officially had the best reviewed show of the Edinburgh Fringe. About to hit big, we have a chat

How do you describe your show to people that haven’t seen it?
“Um… I describe it as stand-up without talking, that’s the easiest way. Usually if you like stand up comedy then you will like my show. It’s using exactly the same tools and format – punch lines – except the only difference is instead of words I use props and people and music.”

When did you decide to have no words in your act?
“I decided, I think it was back in 2005 in New Zealand. I won a comedy award and at the time it was the biggest comedy award in New Zealand. I was doing another show where I spoke a lot, I still had audience interaction and props but did a lot of talking comedy and I just got bored of my own voice actually, and I decided to do a silent character. The first time I did the silent character I went on stage and within 30 seconds I ruined the routine by talking to the front row. The next time I came back and had decided to put the tape over my face and that’s where the character kinda grew from. So it was more a necessity than absolutely anything else.”

Would you consider taking the tape off again?
“Oh yeah absolutely. This show came about because I got bored of doing my other show, so I think the moment the novelty of the show wears off then I’ll stop it completely and I’ll move onto something else. There’s always an evolution at some point that you’re gonna go and do something else. The only reason I do this is because it’s fun and as soon as the fun stops, I will stop and kill the character off – in a very dramatic way no doubt. Very sinister or maybe I’ll just peel the tape off and say ‘goodnight’. That’ll be the final thing I do.”

So what’s next for you – more BBC3 Tape Face Tapes?
“That was a bit of a stepping stone. I decided to have a little play with the medium of television and see what I liked about it and we’re still talking about some new ideas, it was a good show. I would like to evolve it into something else, so we’re still talking through new ideas and bits and pieces which is nice.”

The Boy With Tape On His Face: More Tape, Komedia, Tuesday 2–Thursday 4 October, 8pm, £12/10, www.komedia.co.uk/brighton