TO most stand-up comedians the ability to verbally entertain, bat back hecklers and banter loudly with the audience is a given.

But after years of success on the comedy circuit in his native New Zealand – including winning the country’s most prestigious comedy accolade, the Billy T James award – Sam Wills decided he needed a new challenge.

After attempts at a silent show proved difficult for Sam, who now lives in Westcliff and appears at the Joker Club, in Westcliff, tonight, he slapped a strip of tape over his mouth and Boy With Tape On His Face was born.

Sam explains: “I kind of felt like everyone just expected me to learn more tricks and do more of the same thing, so I thought I’d challenge myself and do a silent show.

“I ruined it by talking in the first three minutes. The next night I put gaffer tape over my mouth and that stopped me talking.”

He laughs: “It was never meant to be something serious. I was just playing with ideas. I thought I’d maybe do a gig a month in this character – in amongst the five shows a week I was doing normally, but it slowly started shifting until it took over.”

The Boy was a hit, and audiences fell in love with the whimsical approach, which sees Sam entertain with a vaudeville-style of silent comedy, miming and acting out stunts and manipulating hapless audience members into baffling situations, which suddenly click into place to form a hilarious tableau.

However, Sam is never out to embarrass audience members, instead, he maintains, it’s an affectionate bond.

He says: “It’s always done in fun. The audience are always supporting whoever’s on stage and there’s never a moment when the audience are laughing at them.

“What I try and do is get someone in and they’re going to be the star of the show, they’re going to leave the stage a hero and with a story to tell.”

Following a successful Australian tour Sam had two hit stints at the Edinburgh Festival, and he’s gained such a following, not to mention a dizzying host of awards, that he’s due to perform at the Royal Variety Show in a couple of weeks’ time.

Other highlights this year have included performing at the Royal Albert Hall for the Comedy Proms.

Describing the experience he says: “They were quite exciting because I use a lot of music in the show and it was really great to have an orchestra. To be on stage at the Albert Hall in front of 6,000 people was amazing.”

Sam started out in street theatre before moving inside and into stand-up. However, he still likes to keep his hand in with street performances. He says: “Street performing is the bungee jumping equivalent of comedy. You’ve got to make people stop and watch you. It’s very rewarding and it’s something I think I’ll always do.”

He took his street performances to Edinburgh, where he met his wife, Westcliff burlesque singer Lili La Scala, and decided to make the UK his home.

He says: “We both fell madly in love and then I could never go back to New Zealand.”

As well as tonight’s gig, Sam’s in the process of putting together his second full-length show. Fans can get a sneak preview at the Essex Yacht Club on December 20 and 21 before he takes it on tour to Australia.