I recently saw someone ask if there was a single location where Jimmy would normally perform his WIP (Work in Progress) tour gigs…the answer would be “nope”.

In the post Paper or Clipboard (here) I’ve written about how he (now) writes new material every day and tests it out, at a live gig, reading from a sheet of paper.

This gives him the basis for the next tour but, at some point, he will still probably need to do some WIP gigs, to test out the ordering. He’s said in the past that moving a joke to a new position, in the show, can sometimes generate a bigger laugh.

Predicting when and where those gigs may be slipped into his schedule is really hard and, as they tend to be smaller venues, they are going to sell out really quickly. Although “being sold out” is not their purpose and tickets are often priced very low.

The Hen and Chickens Theatre in Islington, for example (related posts, here), only holds 50+ people. Between 2006 and 2012 it has hosted 16 WIP gigs (of the 68 that I’ve found evidence for) and 8 of those were consecutive nights (10-17 March 2008).

To give some more recent examples – the 2021 WIPs for the Terribly Funny tour were at:

• Soho Theatre, London
• Princes Hall, Aldershot
• Harrow Arts Centre, Harrow
• Beck Theatre, Haye
• Civic Hall, Grays
• Telford Theatre, Telford
• Marina Theatre, Lowestoft

Those shows were more like 400-1,000 seaters.

The promos for the Laughs Funny WIPs (in early 2024) were around 1,000-ish seats and located:

• Orchard Theatre, Dartford
• New Theatre, Cardiff
• Civic Hall, Grays
• G Live, Guildford, Surrey

So, sometimes it’s about the venue being somewhere around the London area…but not always. Depends on which venue is available on a date where he’s got the diary space and is ready to try his new routine out.

WIP related posts