Joanna Neary is from Cornwall and also Coventry. But mainly Cornwall. She writes for Aquila Magazine, has her art work in exhibitions (more details coming soon) and likes gurning and star jumping on stage, screen and, less visually impactful, on the radio. You can currently catch her in How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge), an utterly brilliant comedy series, in which she plays a small role as a struggling alcoholic book group member, who gets farted at.

For 2025 so far, Neary has recently toured a number of shows, including Trelarious with Anna Keirle (music by Hedluv, enjoyed a mini tour of Cornwall in the spring), Drawn To Stories (a family show about a hamster which turned out to be a guinea pig) and has a new work in progress ‘Inky Sticks’ about the science of art. It premiered at the Latitude Festival this July as part of the Cosmic Shambles Network and combined live drawing with musical accompaniment from Paul Mclean and additional poems and drawing by John-Luke Roberts.

This autumn saw the long anticipated and wonderfully received Ideal – starring Johnny Vegas and written and directed by Graham Duff on a 35+ date tour – a stage show celebrating 20 years since the TV series aired, in which Jo played outsider apologist Judith (sorry) as well as some theatrical costumed ghouls and visions alongside fellow ex-Brighton Uni alumni Graham Duff.

If you enjoyed Jo’s turns on stage this year, do have a look at Podcast/Radio for more comedy nonsense, including an attempt to do book reviews by an ordinary housewife, her husband and their neighbours; the character comedy  ‘Wife On Earth’ with Ben Crompton as Russell Nigels and Al Kerr as Fred. 

Sign up for occasional missives and noteworthy newsletters. Meanwhile, Joanna is still waiting for it to be in fashion to have hair like Jimmy Page. Or Julius Caesar. Or Lovejoy. Etc.

‘More surgically precise strangeness from the Exene Cervenka of quirky character comedy.’ Stewart Lee on Joanna’s show ‘Wasp In A Cardigan’.