‘Heartbreaking’: Moment 33yo realised he needed to leave Australia to make a living

A young Aussie has revealed the “heartbreaking” moment he realised he needed to leave Australia in order to make a living.

A comedian is preparing to move overseas after the “heartbreaking” moment he made $1500 for three months of stand-up work.

Aidan Jones, 33, loves the Australian comedy scene and community. He regularly leaves gigs after hanging out with fellow comics and feels “lucky” to work in an industry with a strong sense of camaraderie.

“There’s a lot of great people in the arts, and I don’t want to sh*t on any people doing the work, but the landscape here doesn’t support becoming a stand-up comedian,” he told news.com.au.

“What stand-up comedian makes a living in Australia?”

That question made him go to the effort of getting his stepdad, who has a UK passport, to adopt him formally at 33 so he can move to the UK and try and make a living from telling jokes without having to work a 9-5 to make ends meet.

Aidan Jones is moving to the UK to make a living. Picture: Instagram/aidanjonescomedy

He has worked as a stand-up comic for over a decade. Picture: Instagram/aidanjonescomedy

Mr Jones argued that if you want to make a living as a comic in Australia, you need to work in radio or television to support your stand-up.

“Whenever comics take those jobs in Australia, their stand-up suffers because they don’t have the time to put into it, so ironically, as soon as they start selling more tickets, their show won’t be as good as the year before when no one was coming,” he said.

The 33-year-old from Melbourne said he ideally wants to do 300 to 400 shows a year, but if he took on a creative 9-5 job, he knows that would be cut down to at least 150.

To focus on his craft, he now works as a removalist, a tour bus driver and occasionally does background work on television and movie sets.

All he wants to do is stand up full-time.

Right now, he works 40 to 50 hours a week and performs stand-up between five and seven nights a week.

He wants to focus full-time on his comedy. Picture: Instagram/Aidanjonescomedy

He is ‘excited’ but sad to leave his Melbourne life behind. Picture: Instagram/aidanjonescomedy

Mr Jones has been doing this for over a decade, but he has yet to have that financial breakthrough that allows him to focus on stand-up full-time.

For example, this week, he has made $0 from stand-up comedy. Last year, he took a break from festivals and made around $20,000, but that was before tax, and most of that was eaten up with expenses.

“This year, I’m doing a show, if it isn’t very successful, $20,000; if it is successful, could be anywhere from $50,000, $60,000 to $70,000,” he explained.

He has had some absolute lows while trying to make it as a working comic in Australia. A couple of years ago, he toured a show for three months and ended up with $1500 to show for it.

He called that moment “heartbreaking,” but it was a good motivator to move to the UK.

“I leave in July, and it is super exciting; I’ve had one foot out the door for 10 years,” he said.

He loves the Melbourne comedy scene. Picture: Instagram/aidanjonescomedy

Mr Jones said the comedy scene overseas is just far more set-up for people to succeed and comics don’t have to rely on getting a radio or television gig to make a living.

There’s also a great culture in the UK where there are more resources available for performers and comedy is treated like a craft.

Recently, he had a mate from the UK put him in touch with a director who helped him finetune his show for when he was over there last.

“She was incredibly helpful and it just struck me that in thirteen years of doing stand-up in Australia and not once was I ever sent someone who was there to help perfect my vision,” he said.

“It does exist in Australia but there just isn’t really a framework.”

Right now Mr Jones is excited to head overseas to give stand-up comedy a crack in a whole new country full time, but it is bittersweet to say goodbye to all his family and friends.

He genuinely loves the vibrant Melbourne comedy scene and it feels “weird” to have to leave it all-behind in an attempt to make a full-time living from comedy.

You can get tickets to Mr Jones’ latest show Chopin’s Nocturnehere.

Originally published as ‘Heartbreaking’: Moment 33yo realised he needed to leave Australia to make a living