‘People would clap, and I’d feel repulsed’: Josh Thomas on quitting standup – and what brought him back

The Australian comic started standup at 17, but a fear of ‘schlepping around’ for 60 years led him to retire. Now, eight years later, he has rediscovered his mojo – and is back with a set musing on his recent autism diagnosis

Until a short London run earlier this month, Josh Thomas had never performed in the UK. “I don’t think anyone thought I’d sell any tickets,” he says. “I didn’t think I would, either. The only metric I have to know how famous I am in different countries is my Grindr.” Wherever Thomas logs in from, he can assess his local popularity from the proportion of users who recognise him. “And in the UK, those numbers are low, which is not a good sign.”

The 37-year-old Aussie comic’s anxieties were misplaced. We are meeting mid-morning at the Underbelly Boulevard, a new 200-capacity venue in the heart of Soho, central London. The previous night, in the same venue, Thomas performed his latest standup show, Let’s Tidy Up, to a sold-out auditorium: a tight 75 minutes that balances intimate anecdotes with occasional absurdity, plus an added dance break.