Multi award-winning comedian Josh Glanc returns to Melbourne International Comedy Festival after celebrating a sold-out season in 2022.
His show 'Collections', which he'll be bringing to audiences, has lived many different lives already. It's been seen by folks here and there and will finally stop by Melbourne in all its on-the-fly goodness.
Though Josh has a rolodex of content to draw upon, he says the show will take a new form every time he hits the stage. That means a fresh experience night after night!
We speak to Josh about 'Collections', his hopes for the year, audience interaction, and more.
You’ve played a few festivals already this year. How has 2024 kicked off for you?
Well, I won a Comedy Award at Perth Fringe, I just found out that I’ve been nominated for Best Comedy show at Leicester Comedy Festival, and although I haven’t arrived in Adelaide yet [at time of writing], I hear that they’ve decided to give me an award there pre-emptively, so I’d say, pretty good.
If you could name one hope/goal you have for the year, what is it?
To find love. Oh, and to have one of those ghost poos, you know the ones where you wipe your arse and you look at the toilet paper and it's completely clean. Yeah, I’d love one of those.
For those new to your comedy, how would you describe it?
Oh man, it’s boring. Really, really boring. Yawn city.
Who are you inspired by most in the industry and why?
Easy. Mr Jeff Fatt. AKA The Purple Wiggle. AKA Mr Sleep. AKA The Wake-Up King of Comedy. What a legend. To suffer from severe narcolepsy like that, but to not let it get you down, and instead, to embrace it, by incorporating it into your act, is just really inspiring.
Tell us about ‘Collections 2024’ which is hitting Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Oh man, what is this? The third-degree? Okay, a few things to note – the show will be different every night. While I’ve got a bunch of routines in my back pocket – like songs about 'lurv' and bits about Domino’s Pizza – I’m not locked in to doing any of them at all, or doing them in any particular order. I’m just going to ‘vibe it’ every night – which basically means coming out and being really sensitive to the audience and what’s happening in the room, and using that to guide what will happen – which feels very exciting for audiences, but is absolutely terrifying for me. Also, it’s kind of about family. The family we have and the family we want to build, including the connection that exists between us in the room that night. I’m having a lot of fun doing it.
What’s your favourite thing about playing this festival?
Definitely seeing all my comedy friends. It’s the best part of playing festivals. You can go all year without seeing each other and then you get to hang out every night. It’s so nice.
What goes into putting a show like this one together?
It’s a lot of work. Gulp. There are a lot of original songs in the show, so writing them and working with composers to get them right can take a lot of time. I also use a lot of sound effects and underscores, so getting those right and editing and fiddling with those tracks to perfect the comedy can take a while.
Tell us about a stand-out/particularly memorable audience interaction you’ve had recently.
There is quite a bit of audience interaction in the show. I’m regularly talking with audience members and probing slightly into their family relationships. It's rich stuff but family is a big topic and in Perth someone got quite emotional during one of the shows. I didn’t mind that, but I’ve been thinking a lot about that show and the power that these types of interactions have, and also the power of comedy – going from something really silly to something really heartfelt.
You’ve played sold-out runs overseas as well as here. What’s the best part about your job?
It sounds a little sappy, but doing what I love: performing. It just totally fills me up. Being on stage making people laugh, creating unique moments for audiences, I truly love it and don’t think I can do anything else, except maybe someone that researches ghost poos, I mean how does it even happen!?
Josh Glanc plays Rydges Two (Melbourne International Comedy Festival) 28 March-21 April.
