Milton Jones, best known for wacky Hawaiian shirts and a deadpan expression, has been a feature of the English comedy scene for over two decades. Born and raised in London, Jones made a name for himself on the stand-up circuit before becoming a regular on panel shows like Mock the Week. His trademark of strange and surreal one-liners have once again been transformed into a tout; Ha-Milton, and Exeposé sat down with Jones ahead of his next show in Plymouth to discuss his career so far, the art of puns and the future of comedy
Ha-Milton is Jones’ fourth tour. He explains how he’s been sitting on the pun for a while, waiting for Hamilton to be more well known. It’s a joke that’s caused a few memorable mix-ups; he first punter of the tour shouted “hang on a minute this isn’t a musical”.
Ha-Milton takes the viewers on a musical journey- although the comedian is quick to assure me that he will not be breaking out in song. The tour begins with Jones reminiscing over his school Nativity Play: “I was Angel A. The kids called me Angela.” and quickly develops into an “all daft” celebration of escapism and silliness.
Jones has earned his place in the “royal family of comedy one-liners”. With his brand of brightly coloured shirts and messy hair, he is instantly identifiable. However, the iconic look serves a dual purpose- Jones explains how the writing process feels like writing for a character.
Jones’ style of one-liners is a rarity on the comedy circuit. He explains how without a clear narrative, it takes both comedians and audiences time to get used to; there is a constant fear of going blank and forgetting where you are, which Jones tackles through practice runs at the Edinburgh Fringe. When he started out it was considered “alternative comedy”, but decades later Jones now sees the need for a new wing of young comedians to come in and establish a new alternative, explaining that social media allows comedians to find a different way in, going straight to mass audiences.
There’s been talk in the comedy world of comedians being cancelled, we’ve all heard the “you can’t say anything anymore crowd.” Jones doesn’t see this happening; “People have always been cancelled a bit. Some topics are sensitive, as soon as you say it you’ve lost the room”. It’s why he opts for a silly rather than divisive brand of comedy.
Jones is a practicing Christian. When asked about faith and comedy he doesn’t really see one as altering the other. Jones never swears on stage, but part of that is about being accessible to all audiences not only due to his faith; he wanted his children to be able to see him on stage when they were younger. Whilst, his faith is key to who he is as a person “there’s the principle of it not being about me- it’s not about preaching, it’s about who you are.”
He closes the interview, and his tour, with a throwback to his first joke.
“I saw an old classmate the other day. They said ‘I hear Camel A’s doing very well’. Yes, I said, ‘I hear she’s running for President of the United States.’”
That one might need a bit of re-writing now, but if anybody can spin political events into the perfect pun, it’s Milton Jones.
