Josh Thomas returns to Melbourne with Let’s Tidy Up

For many of us, tidying up is part of our everyday routine. But for award-winning comedian Josh Thomas, “it’s Everest”.

One of Australia’s most well-known personalities, Josh Thomas has not only been a part of the comedy scene since age 17, but has also starred in, written and produced hit TV shows, Please Like Me and Everything’s Gonna Be Okay.

Fresh from a stint living in LA and a break from stand-up comedy that he “didn’t tell anybody” about, Josh is back on home soil with his new live show Let’s Tidy Up (co-written with acclaimed playwright Lally Katz), running at Arts Centre Melbourne from April 9 to 21.

“Let’s Tidy Up is about this one time two years ago when I had to tidy the house,” Josh told Southbank News.

While coming to terms with moving to a new country as well as being diagnosed with autism and ADHD at 33 years of age, the show dives into Josh’s life at a time where he was forced to “start everything again”.

“I talk about me moving to LA, trying to fall in love, making friends, and having to look after my house,” he said. “As I was being diagnosed, they were telling me that these things were going to be things that I’m not going to be very good at doing, and I was trying to figure out if I can be okay at them.”

Photography by Daniel Boud.

If the show’s interstate run so far is anything to go by, audiences can expect a night filled with side-splitting laughter as they get to know the beloved Aussie icon on a whole new level.

“I’ve really been enjoying doing stand-up, I actually don’t do it often. I’ve done one tiny tour in the last decade, but this is a big tour – this will be more than 100 shows,” Josh said.

“It’s just quite fun to go out there and play around and make your little jokes. When you make TV shows, you have to have so many conversations every single day with so many people – there’s a lot of opinions.”

“In stand-up comedy, I just get to think of things to say and then I go and say them. Either it’s fun and I say it again, or it isn’t fun, and I don’t say it again. I love that it’s so straightforward.”

Performing as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF), Josh is looking forward to returning to Melbourne audiences.

“It’s so nice to be at the Arts Centre, it’s like a real theatre. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be in the Playhouse.”

Let’s Tidy Up runs from April 9 to 21 at Arts Centre Melbourne. •