Since winning RAW in 2005 and being selected for the prestigious Comedy Zone show in 2006, Josh Thomas now has another feather to put in his cap, being the youngest performer to be doing a full length Comedy Festival show in 2007. Josh Thomas spoke to The Groggy Squirrel about his debut Melbourne Comedy Festival solo show “Please Like Me”.
This is your first full length Melbourne Comedy Festival show. How do prepare to make such a leap?
I wish I knew. I sort of just fumble my way through and deal with things as they come up. I have made good friends with ‘St Johns Wort’ herbal thing that is supposed to make anxiety go away.
Last year, as part of Comedy Zone you were directed by Justin Hamilton and you worked alongside Mat Keneally, Andrea Gibbs and Nellie Wight. As young comedian, how important is peer support?
When I finished high-school I told the career counsellor that I wanted to be a comedian and she spent a long time trying to find a course I could do. There aren’t really any, the only way to learn is to do it and get feedback from other comedians/ promoters etc. That’s the only real ‘education’ you can get in stand-up.
You ran a comedy room last year in your native Brisbane. What did you learn from that experience that you didn’t expect to? How strong is the comedy scene in Brisbane?
I whinge about the comedy scene in Brisbane a lot but it is really very good. There are a lot of opportunities for young comics to perform. A lot of those opportunities are in front of people with no teeth, but hey, who needs dignity? My room (‘Livewired’ @ the brisbane powerhouse. opening again on the 10th of June with Rod Quantock and Charlie Pickering) was designed to be a little more creatively friendly, a little more alternative then what was previously on offer.
Tell me a bit about “Please Like Me”.
‘Please like me’ is about how I am in my last year of being a teenager. I can no longer blame being moody on a ‘phase’. Puberty has done everything it will do and I now have to face the world. It is called ‘Please like me’ because that is what I want the world to do. That was the aim, really its me talking for 50 minutes about how girls won’t make out with me. I should have called it ‘Please Heavy Pet me’
For booking details go to Please Like Me