[poloniusmonk]

TIM MINCHIN - Don't Minchin It
Tim Minchin performs Darkside as part of the 2006 Perth International Arts Festival program at the Verandah on Monday, February 13, and Tuesday, February 14, at 8pm. Tickets are selling now through BOCS for just $30.


The name Tim Minchin is being bandied about a lot more frequently these days, and he claims to be more likely recognised on the streets of London than in his home town of Perth. A major accomplishment for a man who still remains for the most part, unknown in the city that saw the start of his career. And it begs the question, what is Perth missing out on? Thanks to his recent successes at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, those slightly behind the times in the incredible voyage that is Mr Minchin's career have a chance to get up to speed before he moves to London for good to take hold of rapidly growing international opportunities.

Tim Minchin has been called it all - actor, musician, composer, cabaret performer, rock star and, now, comedian. "I am not particularly good looking, I don't have the world's best voice and I have no formal acting training, but I have this ability to write satirical songs even when I am not trying to be satirical," he says.

Minchin's strength lies in his ability to showcase his various skills by merging them into a one-man show. This seemingly audacious move has sent Minchin's career off on an almost unexpected tangent. "Mum always thought I would end up as a composer - it's kind of weird that I ended up becoming a comedian. Even two years ago I had only toyed with the idea of doing stand-up comedy."

And his future looks set to remain just as challenging and varied, "I want to write a television series, I want to write a movie and I want to write a musical. I also want to perform in all those forms." Ambitious plans, but if anyone has the talent, determination and energy to pull it off, it's Mr Minchin.

Minchin's Darkside will be appearing for a very limited season at the Verandah (Perth Concert Hall) as part of the 2006 Perth International Arts Festival. "I never dreamt I would get invited to perform at the Festival, this time last year I was planning to beg my way into a slot," laughs Minchin. "I love coming back to Perth, it's my home, and played a role in the development of the show."

In the middle of last year, while he was in Perth during a stint treading the boards in Hamlet for Perth Theatre Company, he gave Darkside a bit of a test run. "We did a two night season to largely family and friends just to try out the material in a bigger room," he admits.

Armed with a greater belief in the product and sensing that after years of toil he was heading down the right path, Minchin headed to the Melbourne Comedy Festival determined to garner some mainstream interest. From there, in a remarkable journey, he took his satirical one-man show from a 50-seat room in Melbourne to the Royal Albert Hall and a house of 900. What followed was an invitation to perform Darkside at the Edinburgh Fringe, where he became the winner of the prestigious Perrier Best Newcomer, and now a season at PIAF. "[Bringing the show back to Perth] will be like the end of a chapter," Minchin relates.

For those who have seen him on stage previously, the promotional image associated with the new show may not add up to the barefoot, low status, white ensemble clad piano player who appears on stage with no pretences and a seemingly unstoppable sense of humour. The borderline gothic representation of Darkside implies a brooding, glam rock image. "I wanted to create an anti-classical look, with Mozart-ian hair and heavy eye make up." And this transformation has allowed Minchin to create an alter ego, a heightened version of himself onstage. "I have given up on trying to come up with poster images that attempt to explain the show," says Minchin of his current promotional material.

Which goes someway to explaining how the man who is becoming notorious for making the taboo laughable, came up with a look that focuses on the 'dark' side - his black sense of humour - rather than attempting to provide punters with an insight into what ultimately has to be seen to be understood. "The character is a radicalised version of me, his history is an exaggerated version of my history. He is an uber-quirky me, with bigger hair!" he laughs.

The Darkside image contributed enormously to the success of the show in Edinburgh and embodied the feel of the whole Fringe Festival, made evident by The Scotsman newspaper using the image as the cover for their Fringe lift-out, and naming him the hot ticket of the festival.

Interestingly though, the man who is seeking to project uniqueness through his performance style, content and image, admits his current look was influenced by the overall feel of this year's Melbourne Comedy Festival. "I spent some time looking through the Melbourne Comedy Festival brochure and the thing that was a recurring theme was strong eyes. [So] I organised a photo shoot and worked on creating an image with a very strong piercing gaze."

Just another paradox in the seemingly unfathomably brilliant mind that is Tim Minchin, and it goes to show that even a man who defies convention in every sense of his work, can still kind of want to look like everyone else... just a little.... at the end of the day.

_AARON BEACH


Posted on November 16, 2005 05:35 PM