Australian comic Josh Glanc swapped life as a lawyer for that of a clown. Hinton interviews Josh about his brand new comedy show Family Man
Josh Glanc is an Australian comedian who swapped life as a lawyer for stand-up comedy. The decision paid off - he has performed sold out shows across the world and won multiple awards for his surreal, out-of-the-box physical comedy.
Josh is back at the Edinburgh Fringe with his new show Family Man, and we caught up with him to find out more about his decision to switch his life up and follow the path of comedy rather than that of the law.

Can you give us the elevator pitch for Family Man?
Oh no, someone’s pressed all the buttons! We’re going to be stopping at every floor! Good thing the ChatGPT description of my show I’ve got is 500-words long! Okay... even though we were stopping at every floor, that’s probably a bit too long. Here's the concise version:
Step into the wild and wonderfully unpredictable world of Josh Glanc, where surreal humour meets high-energy performance. Known for his hilarious characters and spontaneous audience interactions, Glanc’s shows are a rollercoaster of physical comedy, absurdity, and infectious laughter. With a unique blend of improvisation, musical elements, and outrageous visual gags, every moment is a delightful surprise. Come for the comedy, stay for the unexpected.
But, if you’re interested in the long version (I guess I do pack a lot into an hour), here’s the link: bit.ly/4eGypOY
You left a lucrative career as a lawyer to become a comedian. What was the moment you knew you had to make the switch?
I’m not sure about lucrative… it was certainly more stable! And the neurodivergent me really misses that. But I had to be a performer. And the moment I knew I had to make the switch wasn't, as a lot of people think it was, when I was at the office late one night trying to hit an urgent deadline feeling stressed and burnt out and thinking ‘I wish I was somewhere else’. It was when I was back on stage after a long time away.
I performed as a kid and teenager all the time. I loved it. But when I graduated high school and got into law, I thought I should probably concentrate on that and give up performing. While working as a lawyer in Melbourne some of my colleagues got together to put on a comedy show and asked me to be part of it. I hadn’t performed for about 10 years. I remember walking out on stage for the first time after so long and having this feeling of coming home. Soon after that I just knew I had to get back to performing – it really feels like what I’m meant to do. It might not have been lucrative, but yeah, I do miss a salary.
Can you tell us a bit about the improvised/choose-your-own-adventure element of the show?
The show doesn’t really have a set structure. While I usually open the show the same way (though sometimes I don’t), after that, it’s anyone’s guess. God, that makes it sound like I’m just up there winging it. I’m not. I promise. But I really don’t know what’s about to happen until we get there.
Basically, I’ve got about 1.5 hours of material in my pocket – and which parts of the 1.5 hours I put up changes based on what’s happening in the room.
It’s incredibly exciting and adds a real sense of ‘in the moment’ comedy to the show, which I love. I think that’s the funniest stuff – where things are happening in the room and can’t really be repeated the next night.
What’s the silliest thing you’ve done on stage that still makes you laugh?
It’s hard to pick. Everything I do on stage is so silly – and to be honest, it all still makes me laugh when I think about it. Probably the silliest thing I’ve done is kick an audience member out for being too tall and then once they were outside the theatre, I had Front of House give them a top hat, cane and big moustache and tell them to sneak back in and go back to their seat. Having them come in wearing the disguise is so stupid.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given from a family member?
My family tends to give me advice designed solely to benefit them – it has nothing to do with what’s good for me. For instance, when I was deciding between living in the UK or Australia, they all told me to stay in Australia (because they didn’t want me to leave). My mum tells me to settle down and have kids (because she wants more grandchildren). But I think they do that because they know, at the end of the day, I'll do what's right for me. I eventually know what the right decision for me is and when I make those decisions, they always back and support me – but initially, they do everything in their power to get me to do what’s better for them.
Josh Glanc: Family Man will be performed at 3.20pm in Monkey Barrel Comedy (Monkey Barrel 1) from 31st July – 25th August (Not 7th or 14th)
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