Tim Minchin

by Jon Gardner on 8.10.09


Tim Minchin, Musician, Comedian, Poet, Writer, Australian, Husband, Father, Human, Mammal, Insignificant bit of Carbon.

4Q goes under the haircut and behind the eyeliner on the eve of the “most enormous tour ever done by anyone.”

Tim Minchin is a funny one.

For all his appeal, his big, happy dog grin and his very loveable onstage persona, his rudeness and his silliness, this all belies the true nature of a man with a mind as sharp as a pin; a man who wants to answer your questions properly and take his time getting to the bottom of what he’s being asked. Here is a man who loves to investigate and peel back; to lift the rocks and poke what he find with a stick until he understands it. He’s a myth debunker, although to Wiki him is to risk falling foul of a myth; a tale you may have heard, of a man who aimed at a ‘sensible’ music career and became a comedian almost by accident. This isn’t strictly true, although it may make for good copy…

“I’d never been a very ‘sensible’ songwriter. I always did kinda silly stuff, really. Although I do sell myself a bit on the idea that I’m a failed rock star, because it’s quite funny, I was actually writing a lot of music for theatre back then and that’s more what I would have identified myself as. I was an actor as well; sort of a theatre person as well as a ‘band guy’. I’d play in whatever bands would have me, from jazz bands and rock bands to disco bands; I played guitar in an Alanis Morrissette covers band!”

Minchin came to the UK a few years ago from Australia, moving to London following nabbing the Perrier award for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2005. His musical comedy show “So Rock” followed, winning awards in all directions and dramatically raising Tim’s profile in a very short time. When we spoke, E4 had just aired his “So Fucking Rock Live” special and he was mere days away from embarking on the biggest tour he’s ever conceived. Not bad considering he’s only really been trying at the comedy stuff for four or five years…

“If anything, the forward motion in my career was supposed to be composing and songwriting for theatre. Strangely enough that is what I’ve been doing for the last three months. I’ve been writing songs for a project with the Royal Shakespeare Company, so in a way it’s coming full circle. Actually, if I was a betting man, I’d say my future lies in that world.”

Ooh, a scoop! What is the project? Can I ask?

“I’m not allowed to tell you! At least, I could tell you, but you’re not allowed to print it! All I’m allowed to say is that I’m in collaboration with the RSC on a musical. We’re working really hard on it and they have an amazing writer working on the script and literally one of the best theatre directors in the world is attached to it. We’ve just had a workshop and it’s just full on, hard work, but it’s going to be amazing…”

(Tim was nice enough to elaborate just enough to get me very excited but I don’t want to mess it up for him by playing Scoopy Journo here. Dammit all to hell.)

Tim’s blend of memorable music and intellectualism, his relentless poking of taboos and his willful deconstruction of religion and spirituality, hand in hand with the downright dirty song lyrics and hilarious, fearless beat poetry create a unique backdrop for the rock ‘n roll aesthetic he wears so proudly. This all in one package has meant that Tim is as welcome at the Royal Albert Hall as he is at more traditional rock venues, such as Leeds and Reading festivals, both of which he played this year. And after the outdoor frolics, the real work begins… The Lowry in Salford sees Tim perform the first two dates of his mammoth UK and Australia tour where, aside from a couple of weeks in November off, he will be working live almost every single night right through until the end of December.

“Yeah this tour’s going to be fucking full-on! It’s more nights in a row than I’ve ever done, playing rooms that are twice as big as I’ve ever done, so… (laughs) I’m a bit fucking nervous about it! But, you know, it always works out. I’m really happy to be back. It should be brilliant.”

Aside from his self-penned music and comedy work, Tim has indeed tread the boards for some impressive productions, at least back in Australia, landing lead roles in Amadeus, Hamlet and (rather surprisingly perhaps, to fans) Jesus Christ Superstar. I asked Tim if we would ever get a chance to see him in a serious acting role in the near future.

“Acting is perhaps a step backwards for me in some ways as I would lose control of what was coming out of my mouth. That’s the challenge of acting for me and I find that much harder than what I do, but then, things that are hard make me want to do them.”

It is this fearlessness that informs much of his comedy. While he does clearly revel in taking his topics to the edge of taboo and jumping off, laughing at us getting splashed in the process, Tim definitely gives the impression of a man certain and secure in is opinions before he lets them loose…

“That’s true. I really try not to just shock for the sake of shocking, not that I think there’s anything particularly wrong with that. I like to talk about the things that I think it’s ridiculous that we don’t talk about, and that I think it’s important that we talk about. Obviously I try to make it funny when I talk about them and with music I make it more palatable. You can get away with anything if your fingers are doing something impressive!”

Great advice for us all, there.

“That said, I don’t go into rants about religion or non-evidential modes of medicine, or psychics, or any of the stuff I’m interested in, the empirical world view stuff, without being [informed]. If I was to get tested, I need at least to be able to have an intelligent conversation about these things away from the stage, away from the laughs. I need to hold to that.”

But Minchin knows he will always be up against those who are offended or aghast that he approached the topic at all. To ever question religion or the notion of faith, in the eyes of some, is always going to be considered morally wrong, before you even get to the punchline.

“The reason we have satire is to question power structures. If we can’t satirise religion, then what the fuck? It’s the perfect subject for satire. The reason it’s a difficult subject for satire is that it’s just not very fucking funny! It’s not inherently funny.

It can be hard, when you’re trying to get laughs, to say everything you think, as it is in an interview, or in any conversation. I believe very strongly that people have a right to their personal faith of course, and in my show this year I address very specific things, from the hypocrisy of people who claim to follow a cult leader whose teachings were based on love, i.e. Jesus, but then hate homosexuals, to those people who claim to base their morality on the teachings of the Bible, which I believe is a crazy thing to do and I believe that very strongly. You would find it very hard convincing me, short of proving to me that God is magic, that the Bible is any kind of place to seek your morality and that this morality is just mysteriously given to us; it’s just nonsense, and so I try to be very specific with my approach. I don’t have time to make sure the audience knows that I would never approach someone on the street and question their right to a personal faith, but this is the world of my show and if you come to my show, this is part of what you get. But the joy of it is that it’s funny!”

Tim has, of course, had the inevitable comparisons to entertainers of yesteryear. “Back in our day you didn’t have to swear to be funny!” How does he respond?

“Well, It’s not like I’m only smutty and bawdy, I like to use all the words, you know? I don’t only want to talk about sex; I want to talk about the size of the universe and the implications of it’s contraction… and about fingering your bum when you cum! Surely that’s ok, being able to do that? The great thing about [this time] is you get use it all! You don’t have to be foul, but you can be. Double entendre can be fantastic fun, and subversive comedy that isn’t overt, that doesn’t spit it out, is a wonderful genre but it isn’t the only fucking genre and sometimes just yelling “CUNT!” in the face of someone is brilliant.”

Does he ever get angry mobs of Christians and homeopathic practitioners teaming up to smash his heathen head in after a show?
“I assume I do upset some people, with the religious stuff. I’m not out to change the world obviously, in a show in front of my audience I’m pretty much preaching to the converted; I’m not about to go changing anyone’s mind, but when it comes to young people who are perhaps teetering on the edge of a parental belief system or whatever, I do believe you can have an effect.”

Clearly the subject of religion versus science is an important one for Tim.

“See, what I don’t like is it getting in the way of proper life! I don’t care what you think or what rituals you have, as long as you don’t start to pass laws saying we can’t do stem cell research or we can’t have abortion. Any religion, in any of those debates is completely inappropriate and morally wrong. Your personal beliefs do not ever belong in discussions of morality. Otherwise, how can we move forward?”

So what does such a man believe in? Where does Tim find his joy?

“I believe in rocks and gravity. I believe that if I trip on the stairs I will fall. I get my joy out of the same things that religious people get joy out of; the love of my family and beauty in nature, alcohol and… group sex! We all get joy from the same things. It’s just that we incorrectly identify the source. For the vast majority of human history we have incorrectly identified that source because we didn’t have the information. Now we do have the information and people can’t let go.”

To wrap up I asked Tim to recommend a book for you to read instead of drinking, drugging and shagging when you should be working hard.

“Good man! Good question! Ummmmmm (looking on his bookshelf at home)… Do you know ‘Knowledge of Angels’ by Jill Paton Walsh?”

I, of course, do not. Tim recommends it however, so write it down.

“Get ‘em to read ‘Pale Blue Dot’ by Carl Sagan… or Peter Singer’s ‘How Are We To Live?’ Do you know Singer?”

I, of course, do not.

“Well that’s my pick.”

So we should definitely talk about the new DVD then!

“DVD! Fuck Yeah!” Tim laughs, hopping into Merchandising Mode.

“Well it’s actually a re-release of a DVD I’ve had available for about a year, except it has added extras and shit! The best bit is the songbook. It has all the lyrics from all the sings of “So Fucking Rock” in it, and some of them I’ve scribbled chords over the top of. I get asked for sheet music quite a lot and I don’t really do sheet music but I write down chords so people can play them. There’s extras like performances of some of the songs with bands, plus an audio [recording] of some of the new show I did at the Queen Elisabeth Hall [‘Ready For This?’ – Available on iTunes now kids!]”

Sounds like it should be a smash with 4Q readers.

“In my experience students are my perfect audience. Although they do of course, like getting pissed and fucking around, they really don’t miss a thing, you know?”

Considering the incredible material on offer and the ridiculous size of the tour, there really is no excuse to miss Tim Minchin.

Did you see Tim as the Lowry or at the Leeds or Reading festivals? Log on to our forums at www.4qmagazine.co.uk and tell us all about it!

Tim is touring the UK extensively throughout September and October and his new DVD is available exclusively in HMV stores now.

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