A very English night out: Josh James at the Warwick Arts Centre

“Are we in Warwick or Coventry?” The question that runs through the minds of every first-time visitor to the Warwick Arts Centre, including 2019 Essex Comedian of the Year, Josh James, who is currently doing the rounds on his debut tour, Doing Alright.

Award-winning comedian, Josh James

It’s been quite a journey for James, personally and professionally, from quitting his job as a broker which involved a lot of “going out drinking”, to having several sold-out shows across the UK, and being sober and clean. Josh’s career as a comic includes several remarkable milestones, including his victory at King Gong in 2018, “the most brutal open mic in London”, and his viral comedy sketch of West Ham in 2023, where he claimed that West Ham won the 1966 World Cup.

Sharp, story-driven comic energy forward rooting his comedy in the world he knows best—his family, his upbringing and the day-to-day activities he collects like souvenirs

The evening opened with supporting act Sophie Garrad, who warmed up the room with her posh girl self-deprecating humour and light crowd work. The “Cameron Diaz lookalike” riffed on everything from online dating with Hinge Premium to going to private schools, and recalls being embarrassed that she was once driven to school in a ‘Ford Focus’ police car. She shared humorous one-liners about her father’s arrest—“I’m on LinkedIn, he’s locked in”—and a UK parking hack, where parking tickets are cheaper than paying for parking itself. Her humour, personal and pointed, highlighted the quirks of modern British life.

Garrad perfectly primed the audience for James, who carried the sharp, story-driven comic energy forward rooting his comedy in the world he knows best—his family, his upbringing and the day-to-day activities he collects like souvenirs. The audience members don’t escape this orbit either, as he quickly makes work of the crowd: be it bantering with the guy who works in F1, or urging the HR lady to spill the beans.

Had he lingered longer on this theme [British identity], his contradictions of Britishness could have brought out sharper cultural commentary.

James’ relaxed swagger, Essex accent, and punchlines instantly piqued the crowd into the conversation. His knack for spotting the comic potential in everyday language includes a memorable routine on the double meanings of the word “nosh” and later describing his wife’s labour as “like a threesome with two lesbians”. Some of James’ jokes are bold and slightly shocking, but typical of James’ willingness to poke fun at himself and his ability to find comedy in the most unexpected moments.

One of his strongest sections focused on British identity, where he made fun of the national character. He joked that Britons stay polite all week because they reserve the swearing for Saturday night football, and that the country’s national dish, curry, is something they nicked from elsewhere. Quick jabs about the uncomfortable abundance of ‘nonces’ in the small country drew big laughs. Had he lingered longer on this theme, his contradictions of Britishness could have brought out sharper cultural commentary.

Offstage, James brings the same conversational charm to his podcast, That Josh James Show, along with “Romford’s Number 1 Podcaster” Chris White (aka White Boy). While the stage version of James is fast-paced, the podcast slows things down to have a laidback, “two mates sitting on Adirondack chairs talking about life” feel to it. They chat about everything going on around them, for instance, in Episode 170, they discuss family life, the police hiring straight out of university, the ‘voicenotes’ phenomenon and in Episode 168, they chat about beautiful locations in Kent, playing sports in school and Wimbledon being a “popularity competition”. The podcast makes listeners feel part of the conversation, seated in an imaginary chair opposite them.

If this chap from Brentwood keeps doing as well as he seems to be, he looks all set to become a staple on the British comedy circuit.

As perhaps the only overseas audience member that evening, I found myself occasionally catching up to the quick-fire idioms and the Essex slang. While James’ humour is grounded in English culture, it remains accessible for anyone looking to explore this corner of British life through observational storytelling and deeply rooted humour. The crowd at the Warwick Arts Centre clearly enjoyed the one-hour set, as evidenced by the interspersed laughter filling the hall and a long queue of audience members waiting to meet him afterwards.

After the show, James mentioned he was looking forward to the Hackney show and his third homecoming at Hornchurch, having already performed two sold-out shows there. If this chap from Brentwood keeps doing as well as he seems to be, he looks all set to become a staple on the British comedy circuit. Quite the turnaround from his early crowd-work quip: “he never did make it, did he?”

James has a few shows left on his 2025 calendar before resuming tour again in February 2026.