Joe Wells: Advocate of Laughs, Neurodiversity, and Headphones

Human being Joe Wells may best be recognized from a recent viral clip from his standup routine. Being autistic, Wells’ bit about the struggles of having a typical brother flipped the narrative on social norms and neurodivergence. It also happens to be hilarious. Joe was kind enough to share his time and answer some questions about his career. 

See the Clip Here:  Joe Wells: Non-Autistic Brother   https://youtu.be/QrkhSICIjSs

When telling me about his start in standup, Wells mentioned that before ever setting foot on stage he had written a book about his experiences with OCD. He wrote this book at 15. Wells stated,  “...this gave me way too much confidence for a teenager”. With that fresh boost of confidence, as a teen Wells saw Mark Thomas live. “...I did my first gig at 18. I was an unhappy teenager with lots of mental health problems who didn’t fit in and watching Mark Thomas do angry political comedy I thought “yup, that’s for me”. My comedy is less political now and I tend to talk about being autistic and mental health”. 

Because Wells focuses so much of his content on autism, I had to ask how being autistic influences his process. For Wells, being autistic is a strength in writing and performing standup. “...most of my childhood I was getting told off for having one way conversations on topics which interest me, now I’ve found a way to get people to pay me for it. I rehearse conversations lots, too and that’s a useful skill to have for standup, as well as reviewing things I’ve said and thinking about how to say them better next time which is useful.”

With strengths there are challenges. “I hate noisy bars, but if I’m doing a gig I usually get a green room which is great. ...there’s so much networking and stuff involved in comedy which I hate. Luckily I have a really great agent who helps me with that”.

What is next for Joe Wells? Well, a lot. Next year’s Edinburgh Fringe will get a new standup routine by Joe. He’s also working on a young adult book about successful neurodivergent people. His intermittent podcast, Emergency Mixtape has some new content coming soon, too! 

I speculate that Joe offered his time to chat with me because I too, have a non-autistic sibling.  Representation matters, and as an autistic person Joe Wells’ comedy makes me feel seen. Thank you, Joe!

Don’t miss a thing! Follow Joe Wells’ comedy here:

United KingdomOnStage Blog StaffMichelle Jace