Australian Story: Nov 7

Monday’s Australian Story profiles performer and songwriter Tim Minchin, star of Upright.

This episode is introduced by actor Toby Schmitz.

After his dazzling career comes unstuck, musician, actor and provocateur Tim Minchin reassesses his comedy, questions the dangerous allure of fame, and finds home is where the heart is.

There was a time when actor, composer and musician Tim Minchin was going to throw it in and get a real job. He was nearly 30 and the biological clock was ticking for him and his breadwinner wife Sarah, who first got together when they were 17 years old.

He could compose, perform and make people laugh but was relying on playing piano for performers such as Eddie Perfect and Todd McKenney and putting on poorly attended cabaret shows in tiny clubs.

Then one last do-or-die show became the unexpected hit of the 2005 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and he was on his way. He went from playing clubs to arenas and the success of Matilda: The Musical established him as an internationally renowned composer.

As his career skyrocketed, he experienced fame, fortune, and the kind of adulation he had once only ever dreamed of.

In a candid Australian Story, Tim and Sarah Minchin reflect on the challenges that fame and adulation presented to their life and relationship.

“It’s all about me, me, me, me, me,” Tim says. “The audience is laughing at me and they love me and it screws with your ego. This is what makes stars into wankers – you can’t help it.”

“Learning to manage jealousy is kind of interesting when you’ve got a partner who has had some interest over the years,” Sarah says. “But I knew there was going to be no changing that.”

When Tim and his family moved to LA, his career looked set to continue its remarkable upward trajectory but then came a series of setbacks. “Having had all my dreams come true, I had this big, big reality check,” Tim admits.

Returning with his family to live in Australia, Tim Minchin now finds himself at a crossroads. He has re-assessed his priorities, focusing on family and meaningful work and how his satire fits in a rapidly changing world.

“I am a straight white dude with a huge microphone speaking in a time that is at the end of hundreds of years of straight white dudes with microphones imposing their unchecked privilege,” he says. “So, it is not so bad that people like me feel like we need to shut the f*** up for a little bit.”

Monday November 7, 8:00pm on ABC.