Jimeoin’s selling point is awkwardness. In a trade which relies upon a performer’s ability to smooth out every uncomfortable silence and lingering moment the audience might experience, this man has turned that very discomfort into an art.

East Anglian Daily Times: Jimeoin performed at the Corn Exchange in IpswichJimeoin performed at the Corn Exchange in Ipswich (Image: Archant)

He is helped along by his characteristic mumble and a wit that takes a few seconds to unpack. Throwaway lines are left hanging in the air for the audience to catch the meaning whenever they’re ready.

This is a delicate operation, and he almost lost the run of himself once. In the second half of the show he read jokes from a book that he had prepared, crossing off those that he didn’t quite pull off and ticking the others. It was a good formula, except that it felt like the first time he’d tried it.

However overall the comedian showed an admirable adaptability, and moments of his original and refreshing routine left me tear-filled and giddy.

He entered his show, ‘Yes, Yes, Whatever..?!’ at the Corn Exchange with a display of dad dancing, and immediately set about mocking himself.

His humour is part-narrative, part-observational, bordering on the surreal. Observations on the banality of existence are intermingled with speculation on how much quicker the Lord of the Rings would have been if the hobbits had been able to drive.

After a steady first half the Northern Irish man probably peaked early in the second, before hitting a lull and recovering to finish with a flourish on his guitar.

The musical accompaniment was what most of the audience seemed to have been waiting for from the moment they saw the guitar resting in the corner of the stage, and the improvised, organic performance was a trip.

Altogether the show was a mess of nonsense and silliness, exactly what stand-up comedy should be.