Melbourne Reviews

Josh Thomas seems to be one of those humans born to be a comedian. With his tousled hair, slouching-about-the-house dress sense and equally casual attitude to being in front of an audience, it's quite impossible to picture him being anything but a professional entertainer. As for his concerns at the centre of his latest show (that he might be turning into a douchebag), yeah right. Just being worried that you might be a douchebag kind of means you're probably not a douchebag.

Nevertheless, Thomas worries himself about the douchebag possibility through a series of hypotheticals and imaginings, little scenarios played out in his mind that might mean he is becoming a bad person. He doesn't actually do anything to make him a douchebag, just thinks about stuff then worries about it. Needless to say, these imaginings are very funny and yes, kinda mean, but that we all relate and laugh means if Thomas is a douchebag, we are probably all douchebags.

Not all of the stories are strictly in keeping with the theme of the show (I'm trying to avoid the word douchebag from here on as the count is already pretty high). He's more than happy to wander off on sometimes rambling tangents, just random funny stuff that happens to him. He is amazingly candid and totally prepared to open up about the most personal details of his life. His new baby chickens, his Cavadoodle, his foreskin, his relationship with his boyfriend Josh, his reluctant quest for a happy ending in Thailand... it's all very personal, very honest and very, very funny.

His story about a long hike with his close friend, comedian Hannah Gadsby, is funny in itself, then gets funnier as his internal musings lead him to darkish, ever more hilarious places. Perhaps less successful is the way he ends this show, with an auction for a cake he made himself, the proceeds of which go to charity. The audience and its reaction will vary on different nights, but on this night it put the brakes on the momentum pretty quickly.

If you've seen this youngest ever winner of the Raw Comedy comp who has quickly become a veteran of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (and it's likely you have seen him on his own TV show Please Like Me or as a guest panellist on any number of comedy shows), you know what you're in for. If you haven't seen him but appreciate down-to-earth, personal humour, go along and say hello to Josh Thomas – Douchebag.


Token Events
Douchebag
Josh Thomas

Venue: Melbourne Town Hall – Lower Town Hall | Cnr Swanston & Collins Sts, Melbourne
Dates: 28 Mar –- 21 Apr, 2013
Tickets: $25–- $35
Bookings: Ticketmaster 1300 660 013

Part of the 2013 Melbourne International Comedy Festival