Tim Minchin Articles/Reviews

[unfrufru]

http://www.chortle.co.uk/edfest2005/...imminchin.html

Review

Tim Minchin is such a brilliant virtuoso pianist, it would be a pleasure to simply listen to him play for an hour. Any incidental comedy, you could consider a bonus.

But, as it turns out, he's not only an immensely talented musician, he's also a bright, quirky and hugely entertaining comedian, too. It's the sort of all-round package of genius that could drive other comics furious with envy.

On the face of it, what he sets out to do can sound very ordinary; which makes the fact he creates something extraordinary all the more remarkable. How many disappointing student-grade hacks might tackle a comic song about an inflatable sex doll with painfully predictable results? Well, this unedifying topic is the subject of his second song, performed in a cocktail-lounge jazz style, and itís unexpectedly wonderful.

Minchin's main strength is that he writes proper songs, with heartfelt passion and based on sharp, intelligent observations. He puts his personal view of the world first and moulding the jokes around it, the same approach that makes a stand-up sharing their world view infinitely better than some cracker of old gags.

Combine this distinctive approach with lyrics written with a poetís imagery, vocabulary and rhythm and you have songs with a rare depth and texture. To call them simply comedy songs would be an insult; they are thoughtful songs that happen to be hilariously funny.

But this is not all he does, in a show that never loses its ability to surprise. Not only does he mix the musical styles, he mixes the comedic ones too. There's a bit of slapstick, a more straightforward stand-up routine about playing air instruments (the only point of the show that dips from the inspired to merely being "pretty good"), and a poem fabulously recited through Minchin's increasing mental instability.

In Dark Side, heís not afraid to confront his own frustrations and inadequacies ñ all for devastating comic effect, of course. Indeed, its good to hear that he has got inadequacies - for he's lacking absolutely nothing in the talent department, as even the most casual look at his fine work will attest. Impeccable stuff.

[Renee_Turner]

They rehashed the MICF article. Hacks.

[sharleen]

The Scotsman
Mon 8 Aug 2005

Tim Minchin - Dark Side

KATE COPSTICK

GILDED BALLOON TEVIOT (VENUE 14)

HE APPEARS, looking like Edward Scissorhands - all Johnny Depp prettiness and ludicrous hair - and goes from nervous smile to manic breakdance in just under ten seconds. Then he goes to the piano and turns into the secret lovechild of Bill Bailey. Which is about as complimentary as I get to a comic at a keyboard. He plays like an angel, sings like the rock star he always wanted to be and has a devil of a sense of humour.

I have to write nice things, of course, as, in his opening song, he makes it quite clear he will do things to (to say nothing of in) my pot plants should I give him a bad review.

His songs range from the downright silly, through quirky, to genuinely, if weirdly, touching. He has something of an obsession with taking everything ad absurdum, which makes a few of his songs feel just slightly as if they are outstaying their welcome.

Much of his musical comedy plays with repetition and anticipation. But then he gets up to the mic and does a section of classic stand up about his father being a cancer specialist that is black and brilliant - and follows, a song later, with a section about his anger management therapy that reveals him to be a seriously, hilariously, impressive actor. He is also a terrific jazz performer and his Beat Poem is something I'd love to listen to again.

There cannot be an act ahead of us in Edinburgh that is this variegated. Minchin manages to be gently observational one minute, mordant and dark the next. He will sit barefoot at the piano and segue from something whimsical that sounds like it has been channelled through Boothby Graffoe to a number he introduces as being "about God and anal sex".

Karen Koren, a woman with a serious eye for talent and a heart for encouraging it, discovered him 'Down Under'. Minchin is an Aussie and this is his first gig in the UK. Dare I mention Perrier Best Newcomer this early in the Festival? I think I can. Koren has given him her biggest venue and a shiny white piano. He richly deserves it all. And more. This is an extraordinary performer.

Until 28 August. Tomorrow 6.40pm

[Alisso]

Originally Posted by Kate Copstick@The Scotsman

Dare I mention Perrier Best Newcomer this early in the Festival? I think I can.

Ohh, if Tim won best newcomer I would seriously lose my shit I went kinda nuts when he won the Festival Directors' award that they'd only just created It'd be fantastic to see him kick arse over there as well.

[Lou_uk]

Wow, that'd be one of the biggest "fucking woo" moments so far if Tim got Best Newcomer!!

Glad to know the great reviews are starting to roll in. Can't wait till the end of the month when I get to go.

[awaywithfairies]

Am already in Edinburgh and am seeing Tim's face all over the place staring out from those pink posters. He's getting some good publicity so let's hope the 'Perrier buzz' pays off in a couple of weeks!

[Lou_uk]

Good to know!!!

If he starts to sell out he'd better save me a couple of seats one night! *wonders how likely sell outs are.. coz that'd be COOL*

[lily]

Originally Posted by
KATE COPSTICK

all Johnny Depp prettiness and ludicrous hair

Heheee!
I mean, yes, of course, excellent performer, love his work, but that is just right on the money

[Lou_uk]

There's a review on Tim in The Times today - which is a decent paper here in the UK... it's more The Age than the Herald Sun..

They say lots of lovely things about his musical skills, and give him 3 out of 5 stars, and basically say that he's great. If I can find it online, I'll give you the link. As I was looking for it, I instead found this... on the BBC website...

Best of the Fest...So Far
One week in from the first previews, and some shows are starting to attract their first word-of-mouth buzz.



The previously unknown Tim Minchin is one of the most talked-about; a young Australian who performs at a grand piano, but mixes elements of physical and stand-up comedy into his polished set.

Nice way for an article to start!! It then goes on to mention two or three other comedians, but nice that they put Tim first, and with the photo too!!

Good ole Tim!!

[Lou_uk]

Well, that didn't take long.... I would like to introduce you all to the powers of www.newsnow.co.uk

Tim Minchin
Dominic Maxwell at the Gilded Balloon

EVERY year, Fringe pilgrims quest for the Holy Grail of Edinburgh comedy — an act as astonishing as it is unknown. A sleeper hit you can help awaken interest in. Someone you can boast about having seen before he — or she, but usually he — got vaulted into the premier league. Last year it was Will Adamsdale’s mock-motivational lecture Jackson’s Way; the year before it was the US comic Demetri Martin. Both went on to win the Perrier Award.

This year, the early buzz has been swarming around Tim Minchin, an Australian who sings brilliant comedy songs. As he sits at his white baby grand piano, sprouting the sort of hairstyle that Jennifer Aniston might slide into if she decided that she wasn’t worth it any more, you realise you are in the presence of a simply wonderful musician.

Bill Bailey stand aside. Minchin is a genuine musical virtuoso, a classically trained pianist whose songs are constructed and sung with an attention to detail that would make Rufus Wainwright sit up and look nervous. And that’s even before we get to the jokes.

Who knew that there was still so much mileage in that old comic standby, the love song to a blow-up doll? He follows Inflatable You with something even better — Rock’n’ Roll Nerd, a lament for a late-twentysomething of Minchin’s general shape and size, a would-be rocker who is “a victim of his upper-middle-class upbringing/ He can’t sing about the hood or bling-bling . . . He prefers the Beatles to the Stones/ Stevie Wonder to the Ramones.”

Again, he sustains his assault on a potentially soft target by the sheer quantity and quality of his invention, loading sharp lines on to musical backings that would make a New York singer-songwriter weep with minor-chord covetousness.

But if Minchin cannot live up to his unasked-for role as saviour of the Fringe, it is because his stand-up does not captivate in the same way. More even than with Bailey, you want him to get on with the music.

Instead, he gets off his stool between each number to offer artfully awkward, shuffling observations about his muted relationship with his doctor dad, his happy marriage, how he envies his professional friends’ income while they envy his supposed “spiritual and geographical freedom”.

It’s decent stuff, but the troubled Minchin persona looks scrawny placed alongside his musical talents. The straight comedy does not conquer this 350-seater — yup, the Gilded Balloon boss Karen Koren is putting her money where her mouth is with this unknown Aussie — in the way the songs do.

And when you know what sensational stuff you could be getting instead, your tolerance level for the merely good starts to plummet

I think they're just a tad harsh on his standup.... but, y'know, all in all....

[Renee_Turner]

They got his lyrics wrong. That's just poor journalism. Unless he changed the words, which I doubt.

Read Tim's blog, he doesn't like being called 'classically trained'.

[Lou_uk]

As if I didn't know Tim's site had been updated until I read the above post and thought 'Tim's blog? WHAT Tim's blog??' and so looked at his site to see.

Thanks for that!

[unfrufru]

http://seven.com.au/news/entertainment/103230

Minchin not a conventional comedian
Date: 29/08/05
By Amy Fallon He sings about wanting to rid the world of plastic bags and how not eating pigs could contribute to a more peaceful Middle East.

Australian artist Tim Minchin is certainly not your conventional comedian. But the Melbourne-based 29-year-old has been the Aussie in the spotlight at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

On Saturday he won the Fringe's prestigious Perrier Best Newcomer award.

Minchin, who has been working on the comedy scene Down Under for only two years, won the award for his show, Dark Side. He had been nominated for the Perrier alongside fellow Melbourne comedian Charlie Pickering.

Dark Side, his debut at the famous comedy festival, features a one-hour mix of satirical songs, bleak humour and piano playing.

The comedian, actor, writer and musician also won the Directors' Choice Award at this year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival performing Dark Side.

The production contains a song dedicated to Minchin's wife of three years, a heartfelt tune called Accidental Death, which has a dramatic ending.

There's also a number about saving the world from plastic bags, titled Canvas Bags, in which the artist plays around with sound and lighting, and a ditty called The Palestine Peace Anthem, about bringing stability to the Middle East through an agreement to not eat pork.

Minchin, who has been performing every night to packed audiences at the Fringe's sacred Gilded Balloon venue, said his win was yet to sink in.

The performer, who is originally from Perth, said he felt "honoured" to win the award, as there were other experienced artists shortlisted.

"It's an amazing end to an amazing festival really," Minchin told AAP. "I've had a lot of attention from media from very early on, which came as a huge surprise because I thought I was just going to come and struggle like people do."

Minchin attracted international critical acclaim from the start of the Fringe. But many critics also felt he should not have been nominated for the Perrier, as he is not a traditional stand-up comic.

"The contention is because you don't get a laugh every 30 seconds or every 10 seconds in my show like you do in stand-up," Minchin said. "I'm not a stand-up comedian. I'm cabaret or theatre."

He said Dark Side was based on "things that interested him" and "things that don't make sense".

"Whatever art form you're involved in, your job is to reflect the world to people in a different way," Minchin said.

"I guess my way is taking the piss. (But) I am certainly not out to save the world."

He said it was "fantastic" to see so many Aussies performing at Edinburgh this year, although he had limited time to socialise with them and see their shows, and only had his first drink on Saturday night.

Minchin will perform Dark Side in Soho in London next month, before returning to Australia.

Once home, the artist will tour Tasmania with the show, before preparing for another Melbourne Comedy Festival next year.

Minchin said he had received expressions of interest from television producers in Los Angeles and London.

"Just initial interest, but it's pretty exciting," he said, adding he was primarily an actor and eventually wanted to move back into straight acting.

"I want to move into television. I want to write a musical. I want to do film."

The artist, who has British citizenship, said he had thought about a permanent move to the UK but would love it if he could split his time between the UK and Australia.

Britain's top comedy award, the Perrier Award, went to UK comedian Laura Solon, who also made her Edinburgh debut this year.

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, part of the annual Edinburgh International Festival, began earlier this month and will finish on Monday.

A record number of Australian comedians performed at this year's Fringe, including Eddie Perfect, Jackie Loeb, Julia Wilson, Nick Sun, the Umbilical Brothers and the Puppetry of the Penis duo.

[unfrufru]

Funnyman gonged in Edinburgh
August 28, 2005

Tim Minchin: described as "find of the festival".

An Australian comedian has won a major award at this year's Edinburgh arts festival.

Tim Minchin won the Perrier Best Newcomer award today for his bawdy and sophisticated performance in which he "addresses humankind's greatest challenges - inflatable love, plastic bags, twist-top wine bottles and anger management".

The Melbourne comedian's show Dark Side combines his original musical numbers with more conventional stand-up segments.

Britain's top comedy award, the Perrier Award, went to Laura Solon, who made her Edinburgh debut this year.

The 26-year-old was only the second woman to win the award since it was founded in 1981.

In her show on the Edinburgh Fringe, which runs parallel to the formal Edinburgh International Festival each year, Solon played eight different characters, ranging from The Festival Bookworm to Borgesia the Polish storyteller with a quirky take on Aesop's fables.

The prize is a trophy, a cheque for STG7,500 ($18,000) and the opportunity for the winner and the four artists on the shortlist to appear in the Perrier Award season in London's West End.

Perrier Award director Nica Burns said Solon had been discovered in an out-of-the-way venue at the month-long festival to become the surprise winner on the award's 25th anniversary.

[unfrufru]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/items/200....htm?melbourne

Aussie joker named 'find of Edinburgh Fringe'
Sunday, 28 August 2005. 09:42 (AEST)Sunday, 28 August 2005. 09:42 (ACST)Sunday, 28 August 2005. 10:42 (AEDT)Sunday, 28 August 2005. 07:42 (AWST)
Australian comedian Tim Minchin has won the Best Newcomer Award at the world's largest comedy festival, the Edinburgh Fringe.

Minchin, 29, received the award for his bawdy and sophisticated performance in which he "addresses humankind's greatest challenges - inflatable love, plastic bags, twist-top wine bottles and anger management".

British newspaper the Daily Telegraph rated Minchin as the "find of the festival".

"The reaction has been so unexpectedly positive and big," Minchin said.

"I've achieved everything that I possibly could have hoped to achieve.

"I've had full houses and a lot of management and producer attention, which is the ultimate aim going into a festival like this - to find people who can help you take it further."

A regular on Melbourne's comedy circuit, Minchin was among five acts nominated for the best newcomer gong.

His one-man musical comedy show Darkside premiered this year at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where he also won the Director's Choice Award.

The Edinburgh Fringe's top comedy award, the Perrier, went to Laura Solon, who was making her debut at the event.

Solon, 26, is only the second woman to win the award since it was founded in 1981.

In Solon's show at the Edinburgh Fringe, she played eight different characters, ranging from the "Festival Bookworm" to "Borgesia the Polish Story-teller" with a quirky take on Aesop's fables.

Perrier Award director Nica Burns says Solon was discovered in an out-of-the-way venue at the month-long festival.