Married For 24 Years

From Live At The Apollo 2010

More Mike Wilmot videos

Canadian Mike Wilmot started life as stand-up comedian in 1995, becoming a regular on the UK circuit in 1998 and winning a Time Out comedy award in 2002.

He has appeared several times at Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, as well as in Ireland, Scandinavia, Paris, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Bangkok, South Africa and Melbourne - where he won the comedy festival's Barry award in 2003.

CV

Rich Hall's Campfire Stories- Fringe 2009
Live Review

He plays a gruff, weather-beaten outdoorsman seeking quiet solitude in fly-fishing; an isolation that’s rudely interrupted by amateur camper Mike Wilmot, who blunders on to the same patch of river and instantly makes a nuisance of himself. Over the ensuing days, they trade reluctant banter and tall tales, as a prickly friendship evolves.

The ponderous and thoughtful script romaticises the experience, especially in the angler’s obsession with the humble fly, the intricate, personal link between man and fish, the perfection of which comes to symbolise an urge more primal and rewarding than any modern trappings. The wonderfully craggy Tim Williams plays the owner of the backwoods fishing supply store, who knows his flies but alienates casual customers – at least until Wilmot teaches him the importance of advertising.

Hall’s appealing script flips deftly between philosophising, compelling fictional anecdotes, deadpan jokes and bouts of otherworldly surrealism, as Wilmot appears to have picked up a giant, voracious, nymph on the internet. The writing is both intelligent and knowing – using a word like ‘lenticular’, then self-conciously drawing attention to the fact such fancy vocabulary is in play.

The show is loose enough to let old pals Hall and Wilmot improvise between each other, but strong enough to rebuild the mood broken by such banter within a couple of lines. A fly-fishing metaphor can also be applied to the comedy; the lazy lunchtime pace allowing the patient Hall to lure in the audience slowly, then suddenly he’ll hook them with a great one-liner and hurl them out of their complacency.

Anyone who enjoys Hall’s American-set short stories will enjoy the similar atmosphere he sets here. One yarn is familiar from his recent book Magnificent Bastards; but this is a more consistent mood than any anthology can create.

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The worst act ever seen! My husband and I saw this buffoon ‘perform’ at the 02 Indigo Rooms on March 19, as the headline act. Why they made him the headline act, I can only think that it must be PITY. While you’re used to the odd swear word as part of a comedian's gig, this fool based his entire performance on swear words and making derogative remarks about women. The very first 10 minutes of his performance was spent using the C-word and went downhill from there. To say the least he lost half the crowd on his poor, sexist humour. It’s safe to say the comedians who have to use expletives and make sexual remarks for jokes show very poor ability for any skill or wit. If you removed the expletives from his gig all you would be left with are the words ‘hello’ and ‘goodnight’. Time this old-timer hung up his crusty suit and took his potty-mouth to church for his soul to be cleansed with a gallon of soap

Elle, March 2011

Currently watching this tired hack of a comedian rolling out poor uncomfortable disgusting humour that I genuinely feel sorry for him! This man should be put down along with everything else from the 70s!

Riley, September 2010

Saw Mike @ the Comedy Club in Greenwich, great stand up, totally hilarious, has the place in tears. He's one funny guy. His stand up is much better than his TV work. If you get a chance to see him do it. After his act he' s up for a beer with the crowd. A must see.

Brendan, March 2009

Nice to see him back gigging. He's got some new stuff as well which pretty good. The stuff about his wife's giant camel-toe is hilarious even if it is a bit graphic.

Ian Ashton, November 2008

One of the greatest comics around - playful, straightforward, insightful and effortless. He just gets better and better.

Alexis, June 2008

I saw Mike recently at The Comedy Store, he is still one of the funniest guys ever, his new material is an even funnier update of escapades of an older guy suffering the demands of sex.

D., May 2008

I saw Mike Wilmot's comedy live recently (I have previously seen him on TV) and he is not a good comedian at all. He only tries to disgust the audience by making them think negatively about sex. He constantly claims to be speaking for all men, whilst speaking only for himself and his nasty, self-centred and ambivalent feelings about sex and relationships - including the comment "its the only way you can get away with hitting your wife these days". I can imagine that he could put people off their partners if they took any of it on board. There is no warmth or wit in his act - only a desperate last-ditch attempt to draw laughs in the form of a nervous giggle from his audience. He really does nothing to deserve the platform of the stage - the only audience he deserves is the one he sees when he looks in the mirror.

AOD, May 2008

Possibly the funniest man in the world. Does well with the band!

peterprice, November 2006

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