The Adventures of Josh Thomas and the World’s Greatest Love Machine (FringeTIX)
Josh Thomas @ The Pod
8:30pm, Mon 25 Feb 2008
Take a look at Josh Thomas’ ads. Go on. Bloody young looking, isn’t he? Pre-pubescent, even. The fact that he’s twenty is as surprising as the fact that one so young is performing credible stand-up.
And he relies on his young age – and younger looks – a lot, constantly placing himself in situations where his youth creates a amusingly jarring image – a strip club, behind the wheel of a sports car, being the subject of groupies. And it’s always fun seeing someone so young swearing like a filth-pig, constantly (comically) referring to pussy, bitches and ho-s.
Thomas admits that his audience interactions are crap – and, despite bright openings, they are. However, when he pops out jokes like “how can a drink be gay? It’s not like a vodka, lemon and cock”, all is forgiven. And his style is very gentle, but crude – just because he looks young, it doesn’t mean that he’s kid-safe.
The surprising thing about seeing Thomas perform is that it made me think about how much stand-up comedy tends to rely on the real-life experiences of the comedian; in that regard, Thomas is behind the eight-ball. In fact, the entire show seems to be based around two stories – his schoolies expedition, and his first sexual experience(… maybe). And even those two stories are linked.
But in no way does that make this a shit show. They’re such fundamental experiences that everyone in the audience, no matter how old, is able to relate. And Thomas’ style and delivery make it an utterly endearing – if rude – experience. But one is left to wonder what a thirty year old Josh Thomas will be like.