Josh Earl, heralding from the small Tasmanian town of Burnie, by day works as a librarian at the Melbourne State Library and by night takes to his guitar and serenades audiences with comedic tales of life.

Josh’s passion for being a librarian really shows when he introduces the Dewey Decimal System into his act, and this keeps his show, ‘Josh Earl is a Librarian’ structured as he goes through the entire library catalogue.

Josh Earl is a Librarian

Earl’s topics provide him with an endless supply of material. From skyping with parents, to sex and the biographies of librarians; this show was phenomenal. I could feel the tremors of laugher from those around me as chairs moved with the force of people doubling over in stiches.

‘Josh Earl is a Librarian’ is not merely vocal; it is musical and visual as well. Earl uses basic multimedia to its most effective possibilities. With the use of PowerPoint he makes jokes with haikus and pictures of kittens, breaking up the main act, which mostly consists of musical musings on everything.

During one segment of the night, Josh asked the audience if anyone grew up in a house full of boys, to which my father replied that he did. He and Josh discussed how their mothers, both having dreamed of having daughters, would dress them up in girls’ clothing and traumatise them from there on out. It is good to know that my dad had his own special bond with Josh at least.

Now I won’t spoil the entire show, but prepare for wardrobe changes, a variety of different musical choices and a PowerPoint presentation that will leave no one left out of the experience that is ‘Josh Earl is a Librarian’.

Earl sold out his first night at the De Parel Spiegeltent, a beautiful venue, which, with a big top ceiling, stain glass windows and small booths reminded me of a chapel mixed with a circus tent. This obscure but delightful venue seemed like the perfect place to hold a show like Earl’s. It allowed for great crowd intimacy while also keeping to the carnival feel that the Fringe Festival creates.

This is definitely one of the best shows at Fringe so far and a great way to see out this festival. With an almost completely sold out show you’d better hurry to see Josh Earl.

By Anthony Pyle

‘Josh Earl is a Librarian’ is on until the 23rd of February with tickets ranging between $20 – $25. If you want to be one of the last people to see this show before it heads out, go to https://www.fringeworld.com.au/program/event/d85d35e1-95ca-4ef5-b01f-5802e1bcc6d0/ now!