AT first glance, it might seem like Sam Wills — aka The Boy With Tape On His Face — wouldn’t have a lot to say to an audience.

It’s the piece of gaffer tape over his mouth that does it, you see. When we are so used to comedians aurally assaulting their audience with the volume and tenacity of a drill sergeant rollicking his new recruits, the thought of one who says nothing is, well, a little surprising.

And then, of course, there’s the “M” word.

“I try to avoid the word ‘mime’ as much as humanly possible,” Sam says. “I really don’t like it. The show is different, it’s not your normal comedy show, but mime is something else altogether, and it’s not something I’m a fan of.”

Instead, Sam uses props, music, costumes and sound effects — plus a little help from the audience — to create a show that received rave reviews from critics at the Edinburgh Festival.

I suggest there aren’t many comedians who do what he does.

“Well . . . there’s Buster Keaton,” he says. “And Charlie Chaplin. Rowan Atkinson’s early work was great, the stuff he did with Angus Deayton. And Lee Evans, when he used to do the Lee Evans Trio, had some really good silent physical stuff.”

Point taken; there is an illustrious history behind the show known affectionately as Tape Face. But Sam has a second comedy career as a “talky” comedian, and it was only when he was looking for new ways to challenge himself that the silent character was born.

“The first time I tried it I screwed it up and spoke — that’s why the tape’s there,” he says. “It can sometimes be a bit psychologically strange to put a piece of tape over your mouth and only breathe through your nose for an hour. I don’t need it now, but I don’t see why I should take it off, either.”

Just like a traditional comedy show, Sam says he “tells a series of jokes”, but has just bypassed the need to do actual words.

“I think it’s because it’s so simple that sometimes you get a bigger laugh,” he says. “Plus it’s international. I really want to take the show to Japan, and I won’t even have to bother learning the language!”

* The Boy With Tape On His Face is at the Frog & Bucket, Manchester, on Sunday, October 10; Bolton Albert Halls on Friday, October 29; Blackburn King George's Hall on Friday, November 5; Frog & Bucket, Preston, on Sunday, November 7.