Edinburgh Fringe is the perfect tonic for neurodiverse comedians – here’s why-Kitty Chrisp-Entertainment – Metro

More comedians than not are neurodiverse (Picture: Getty)

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is full of neurodiverse comedians – but there’s a reason for this.

It’s not, as some neurodivergence-deniers would say, because it’s ‘cool’ to have an ADHD diagnosis and shout about it from the rooftops. It’s not because, ‘Everyone and their dog has ADHD nowadays,’ as others would tut.

But it’s because there seems to be a theme among stand-up comedians: more often than not, they are neurodiverse. From Fern Brady to Hannah Gadsby and Pierre Novellie, comedy names are coming out of the woodwork with their diagnosis’ – often initially identified by audience members who pull them aside after shows and say, “Hey, you’re just like me!”.

It only takes a few shows at the Edinburgh Fringe to notice the theme – and the comedians have clocked it too.

‘I don’t want to say everyone who pursues a career in comedy is autistic, but a lot of ADHD people like extreme experiences – a pathological fear of boredom is what ADHD is so stand-up comedy attracts people like that,’ says Josh Thomas, who sits down with Metro.co.uk along with Maeve Press at the Edinburgh Fringe, both of who are autistic comedians taking on the Scottish festival for the first time.

‘Old school, people thought of autism as being very mathematical but there’s a real path of neurodiversity which is creative and words,’ he continues.

Maeve sums it up: ‘I think most comedians I’ve met here are neurodiverse.’

Josh Thomas is one of them at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe (Picture: nicolereed.photography)

Maeve Press was first diagnosed as neurodiverse at school (Picture: Caption: Evan Murphy)

Hailing from New York, Maeve, 21 was first given a diagnosis in school when she was described as ‘bad at friendship etiquette’.

‘I still don’t know what that is,’ she laughs. While her report said Maeve had social cue issues and didn’t know how to have an appropriate conversation with people, she was living her best life.

‘I was going to school dressed in superhero costumes and having the time of my life,’ she remembers. ‘I had no clue I was different. But now I have a show, so I am thrilled I was bad at friendship etiquette.’

If Maeve hadn’t been neurodiverse, she wouldn’t be doing comedy.

‘I was 11 when I started doing comedy. I wasn’t a social kid and I didn’t want to do things, and my mum said I had to, so she put me in a comedy camp,’ she remembers.

But comedy isn’t always a healthy outlet, as creating laughter can be an addictive substance for those who hinge their success on it.

‘I look at some comedians and I think, “You’re not doing comedy in a healthy way,”’ says Josh. ‘Some people can drink healthily, and some people can do comedy casually – but some people can’t.’

But for Josh and Maeve, the stage offers respite in a world that historically hasn’t catered for them.

‘People think stand-up sounds so scary, but to me that structured environment is really nice – me talking and them not ruining the conversation by saying anything,’ quips Josh. ‘It feels much safer to me.’

For Maeve the hardest part of stand-up is paying attention, but she agrees with Josh that it offers a safer, more controlled environment than day-to-day social interaction can.

Josh is performing his show, Lets Tidy Up (Picture: nicolereed.photography)

Maeve is making her UK debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with Failure Confetti (Picture: Evan Murphy)

‘It can be hard to pay attention when there’s multiple things happening at once. But I’m better when on stage,’ says Maeve. ‘I’m more myself on stage. I feel more comfortable because it’s a set social interaction. Whereas talking to someone, if there’s no theme to socialising, it’s sometimes hard to know where to start.’  

It was through his TV show Everything’s Gonna Be Okay that Josh found out he was autistic in his 30s.

‘I made a show about autism and in the process of it realised I had it,’ he explains. ‘The character I play in the show is autistic. I was like, well that character is me. Then I asked one of the people doing consulting for us if she thought I was – it’s not her job – and she said, “There’s not nothing there.” Then I went to the doctor.’

The most obvious signs Josh was autistic came via his difficulty in maintaining eye contact, ‘weird accent’ and when he was younger the comedian and TV writer struggled socially.

‘I had no idea what people were doing and why they were doing it,’ he says. The main thing that’s changed since his diagnosis is that people who didn’t know him before it tend to talk down to him in professional TV studio settings.

‘It’s crazy, like I’m on Sesame Street,’ he says. ‘I’m usually the boss and not the baby. It’s really started happening this year and don’t really know what to do about it.’

He adds: ‘I don’t need you to explain to me in detail when recording something, I’ve been on set since I was 19. It’s a lot of that, baby-ing me through things.’

Maeve agrees. ‘People do talk down to you sometimes when they realise your brain is a little different,’ she says.

As for comedy, while it is a great space to let neurodiverse creativity thrive, Josh doesn’t think it’s a sustainable career – which is why he took an eight-year-long break, returning to touring this year.

‘I started doing comedy when I was 15, and at 17 was doing proper touring and stuff. I can’t do that until I’m 67. It’s not good for you. So I just do it when I want to.

‘Having people looking at you, judging you or cheering you doesn’t feel very grounded. It’s not normal.’

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