Melbourne Airport - Emerging Talent program - Profiles

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Josh Thomas

Melbourne Airport Best Newcomer Award
Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 2007

Q: Where did you start out in comedy?

JT: I entered a high school competition called Class Clown and won it. I then did an open mike slot at one of the scariest bars in Brisbane with about 7 people and one man crying into his beer. Terrifying.

Q: Why do you love comedy?

JT: Because it means that I'll never have to do a corporate team building day which makes me very happy.

Q: If you weren't a stand-up what would you be doing instead?

JT: Probably crying my eyes out. I used to be a telemarketer - and comedy and telemarketing have a lot in common. Both involve selling your dignity for pathetic amounts of money.

Q: Is stand-up comedy not terrifying?

JT: I don't find it scary at all. I find one-on-one conversation more challenging. I feel very comfortable on stage, it's weird.

Q: Who are your comedy heroes?

JT: Daniel Kitson, Fiona O'Loughlin and Ricky Gervais

Q: How did it feel to win and where do your keep your brand new Melbourne Airport Best Newcomer award?

JT: It's in my manager's office. I couldn't carry it home so gave it to her to look after. I was totally surprised. I seem to come to Melbourne and somebody nice gives me an award to take home, is it like this for everybody...?

Q: What's the worst thing about a career in comedy?

JT: I am bored of drunken lunatics telling me racist jokes after shows in scary places that they seem to think I should include in my show to make it better…

Q: What are your interests outside of comedy?

JT: I don't have any! One of the objectives of my five week tour is to "Find an interest for Josh" Comedy is kinda my life...I do like cooking though.

Q: What has been your funniest heckle?

JT: Well, it wasn't a heckle but I often banter with my audience and I once asked this big looking guy what his name was and he said 'Mandy'... this isn't unusual as people often give fake names to comics, so I said 'That's a stupid name for a man, either that or you are an extremely ugly woman?'

I looked more closely as the lights in comedy clubs can confuse you and Mandy was actually a large, extremely ugly woman.

Given that my show is called Please Like Me I'm not doing too well am I...

At just 19, Josh Thomas is the 2007 winner of the Melbourne Airport Best Newcomer at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. His winning show Please Like me is a sideways look at the disconnect between manhood as it is understood and manhood as it is experienced.

Josh's show entitled Please Like Me was described by Helen Razer, arts critic from The Age as "One of the festivals best, Josh's stories are populated by real, warm people. His eye for bathos and tat is extraordinary."

Josh is already a veteran of 300 stand-up gigs including a performance at the International Edinburgh Fringe Festival where he made the finals of 'So You Think you're Funny', Edinburgh's equivalent to Raw Comedy.

In the last twelve months, Josh has performed on the Comedy Channel's 'Stand Up! Australia' and supported the likes of Dave Hughes in front of a crowd of 1500. He has been heard on the ABC's Triple J Breakfast Show, Brisbane's 612 ABC, Triple M Brisbane and the Triple Z Comedy Show.

Josh has a history of being a youthful award winner: in 2005 he was the youngest ever winner of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's RAW Comedy Competition in 2005 at just 17 years old.

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