An Unfunny* Interview with Tim Minchin

Summary

All Of It (WNYC): "An Unfunny* Interview with Tim Minchin"

Host: Kusha Navadar (in for Alison Stewart)
Guest: Tim Minchin
Date: August 23, 2024

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Episode Overview

This episode of All Of It spotlights Tim Minchin, the acclaimed musician, composer, comedian, and actor, in the midst of his first solo North American tour in over a decade, "An Unfunny Evening with Tim Minchin and His Piano." The conversation navigates Tim’s relationship with comedy and music, his eclectic career, reflections on loss, and the values underlying his new book. Minchin’s candor and humor illuminate both the artistic journey and the deeper questions of fulfillment, grief, and gratitude.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Tim Minchin's Return to the U.S. Stage

• Tour Context:
  After over a decade, Minchin returns for a 13-city solo tour, culminating with shows in New York City at Town Hall (Aug 25-26).
• Tour Title – Managing Expectations:
  The show is titled "An Unfunny Evening with Tim Minchin and His Piano" to clarify it's not a stand-up or purely comedic set:

  "I just wanted people to know that I’m sort of expanding outwards. That said ... I can’t really help but be funny when I talk. But I’m not playing my old punchliney songs. The songs are quirky but not punchliney." (05:03)

2. The Artistic Journey: Comedy, Musicals, and Piano

• Minchin's Diverse Range:
  Known for musicals (Matilda, Groundhog Day), TV work, live comedy, and songwriting. The setlist for this tour is a curated mix:

  "I play my favorite song from Matilda, which is called Quiet... I do some tunes that people have probably never heard. I play one from 1997, when I was 22 ... So I’m just kind of telling the story of the journey I’ve traveled a bit." (06:09)

• On His Relationship with the Piano:
  Tim reflects on being mostly self-taught and continually improving:

  "Apart from anything else, I’m just getting better at piano still, which is a real pleasure. And a big part of this concert is kind of proving to people that I’m an actual pianist and not just a clown." (07:08)

  • On learning and growth:

    "I taught myself to play by writing... I’ve always taught myself by writing and playing. I feel like I’m just in the middle of the journey." (08:53)

• Unpigeonholing Himself:
  Tim discusses the challenge of moving beyond being labeled solely as a comedian:

  "Trying to un-become a comedian ... is maybe almost impossible. ... I think I’ve achieved something that’s quite hard to achieve." (12:54)

3. Artistic Responsibility and Gratitude

• On Artistic Freedom and Luck:
  Minchin attributes much of his career's breadth to both luck and the success of Matilda:

  "Even if you don’t believe everything is luck, I’ve had so much luck ... Matilda gave me the freedom to do things like worry about my craft and stepping sideways, knowing that I’m kind of going to be okay." (12:54)

• Audience Relationship:
  He feels responsible for rewarding audience loyalty by always giving his all:

  "I take the responsibility of that really seriously ... I always try and make sure whatever I’m doing, I really throw myself into it." (07:08)

4. Reflecting on Loss: The Passing of His Mother

• Inspiration in Family and Loss:
  The iconic song "White Wine in the Sun" is highlighted as a touchstone for listeners and Tim alike.
• On His Mother's Influence:

  "They just made me know that I’d be alright if I took risks, I wouldn’t end up on the street ... All you have to do is make them feel safe." (17:24)

• On Performing After His Mother's Death:
  Tim shares the clarity found in continuing to perform in the wake of grief:

  "If I have a tribe ... it’s this, it’s theatre, it’s performing ... there isn’t Ten Commandments, there’s just one. The show must go on. Whether you’ve missed a flight or lost a tooth or lost a mum, you go on." (22:01)

• Connection with Host:
  Kusha shares her own loss, deepening the conversation about how gratitude, purpose, and craft interplay in the wake of grief.

5. Creativity, Ambition, and New Projects

• Insatiable Drive and Creative Identity:
  Minchin speaks about his wide-ranging passions and the “self-competitive” drive behind his career:

  "If I wasn’t me, I’d be jealous of my career, which is how I know I’m on the right track." (15:04)

• On Not Wanting Fame for Its Own Sake:

  "I don’t want to be Ed Sheeran. ... I’m incredibly happy with how known I am." (16:09)

• Upcoming Book – "You Don’t Have to Have a Dream":
  Inspired by his viral 2014 university speech, the book collects three pieces on his life lessons and authenticity.

  "The lesson number one is you don’t have to have a dream. It’s all about being incrementally ambitious ... being really passionate about what you’re doing right in front of you." (26:29)

  • Audiobook is on the way:

    "I think you can even pre-order the audiobook if you want, just to show me your intention to listen to it." (29:14)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On pain and performance:

  "I was in such bad pain last night ... The fact that I was able to get dentistry this morning for three hours in the chair and then be able to be on stage tonight is just ... I’m in a very, very good mood. Maybe it’s partly the numbing agent." —Tim Minchin (04:09)

• On identity beyond comedy:

  "In the 30 odd years I’ve been a professional artist, I’ve only really focused on comedy for six or seven of them ... I just wanted people to know that I’m sort of expanding outwards." —Tim Minchin (05:03)

• On motivation and satisfaction:

  "If I wasn’t me, I’d be jealous of my career, which is how I know I’m on the right track." —Tim Minchin (15:04)

• On meaningful contribution:

  "All the studies show that human happiness correlates most to making a meaningful contribution to your community." —Tim Minchin (24:24)

• On loss and performing:

  "If I have a tribe, if I have a community, it’s this, it’s theater, it’s performing ... there isn’t Ten Commandments, there’s just one. The show must go on. Whether you’ve missed a flight or lost a tooth or lost a mum, you go on." —Tim Minchin (22:01)

• On practical ambition:

  "If you’re really passionate about what’s in front of you, the next opportunity will arise. And if you set your sights too far in front of you, you might miss those adjacent opportunities." —Tim Minchin (26:29)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Tour Introduction & Personal Challenges: 03:52–06:04
• Songwriting & Piano Craft: 06:55–10:54
• Reflecting on Artistic Growth: 12:54–17:04
• On Loss & Performing Through Grief: 17:04–24:24
• New Book and Philosophy: 26:18–29:14

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Tone & Atmosphere

The conversation is candid, reflective, and peppered with humor; Minchin’s self-deprecation, gratitude, and thoughtfulness infuse the episode. He toggles between philosophical insights, personal anecdotes, and playful banter, matching the show’s goal of exploring culture and its creators with authenticity and warmth.

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Listeners are left with an intimate understanding of Tim Minchin's evolving artistry, his persistent curiosity, and his humanist reflections on creativity, loss, and purpose.

Transcript

[Kusha Navadar]

I' ma put you on, nephew.

[Tim Minchin]

All right, unk. Welcome to McDonald's. Can I take your order, miss?

[Kusha Navadar]

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[Tim Minchin]

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[Kusha Navadar]

This is all of it. I'm Kusha Navadar. I'm in for Alison Stewart today. Happy Friday, everyone. Thanks for spending part of your day with us. We're really happy that you're here. On today's show, the new film Strange Darling flips the serial killer trope on its head and it's out in theaters today. We'll speak with its writer and director and cinematographer. We'll take your suggestions for New York anthems that go beyond Alicia Keys, Billy Joel and Frank Sinatra. And we'll send you into your weekend with suggestions for what to do, curated by Team Olivet and you. Because we want to hear what you're doing. That's the plan. So let's get this started. For the first time in over a decade, Tim Minchin, the musician, composer, comedian and actor, is on a solo tour in the United States. His 13 city North American tour, called An Unfunny Evening with Tim Minchin and His Piano, ends this Sunday and Monday, August 25th and 26th, right here in New York City at the Town Hall. Let's listen to a little bit from his 2020 album Apart. This is about a minute from his song Airport Piano.

[Tim Minchin]

I always hated those. Airport piano should be a loss and play on the theme from Beverly Hills. One of your hands chopped off. I wrote the song on an airport piano. I'm out of time I just need one more little rhyme I got a For that fame they're calling my name right in the song. Women in SUV Porsches always love M. Or is it only the Botox?

[Kusha Navadar]

I was first introduced to Tim's music almost 20 years ago thanks to a lucky YouTube algorithm suggestion and with many fans have followed Tim's dynamic career. Broadway lovers listening probably recognized his music from both Matilda the Musical and Groundhog Day. Both of which earned him Tony Noms for best original Score. Tim's work can be many things. Thoughtful, funny, moving. But it always has heart. And maybe that's the best place to draw from to write funny and unfunny things ahead of his performances this weekend. We're lucky to have Tim here with us now. And Tim, when I say lucky, I mean like legitimately. There was luck involved in making this interview happen. We picked the song Airport Piano because this week a canceled flight forced you to take a nine hour road trip to make a show in Toronto. And listeners, I kid you not, this morning Tim had to have emergency dental surgery. And I'm pretty sure the novocaine is still wearing off, but he has been generous enough to hang out with us. Tim, welcome to wnyc. On behalf of.

[Tim Minchin]

Thank you so much.

[Kusha Navadar]

On behalf of North America, I am so sorry for your bad luck.

[Tim Minchin]

Thank you. Thank you for the very generous introduction, including an out for me. If I say something stupid, I can blame it on the Nova kind. That's very good of you.

[Kusha Navadar]

Absolutely happy to provide. How are you feeling?

[Tim Minchin]

I feel great actually, because I won't go into it because there's no sexy way to talk about dentistry, but I was in such bad pain last night, like insane kind of that sort of pain where you actually just feel scared because you think if this keeps going, like it's just sort of unbearable in the very literal sense of it. And I just. The fact that I was able to get, get dentistry this morning for three hours in the chair and then be able to be on stage tonight is just, it's, I'm, I'm stoked because missing shows is just unacceptable to me. So yeah, I'm, I'm in, I'm in a very, very good mood. Maybe it's partly the, partly the numbing agent.

[Kusha Navadar]

Whatever it takes to get on stage. Right?

[Tim Minchin]

Yeah, yeah.

[Kusha Navadar]

Let's talk about a little bit. It's called An Unfunny Evening with Tim Minchin and His Piano. It's a great title. Are you trying to manage expectations there?

[Tim Minchin]

Yeah, well, what I, because I got known as a comedian, I, I just want to, I made that title because I want to be honest with my audience. I don't want people to think they're coming to see a stand up show just because I've seen some of my funny YouTube vids. Because in the 30 odd years I've been a professional artist, I've only really focused on comedy for about six or seven of them and I've obviously done. You very kindly sort of mentioned my musicals and stuff. I. I've made TV shows and I'm. I'm a writer and I've got a book coming out of speeches and so I do all these things. I'm not claiming I'm equally good at all of them, but I certainly try and I just wanted people to know that I'm sort of expanding outwards. That said, as the two. I've been in the UK and Australia and now here I've done about 80 versions of this show. They're always a bit different, but it. I do tend to fall towards comedy in the way I talk. I can't really help it. But I'm not playing my old punchliney songs. The songs are quirky, but not. Not punchliney, I guess.

[Kusha Navadar]

Yeah. What kind of music can fans expect tonight? More from your more recent album, New stuff.

[Tim Minchin]

Yeah, quite. Quite a bit from Apart Together, which, as you know, as the listeners heard from Airport Piano, is. Is kind of crossover, is quirky. It's not all that funky. That's. That's a pretty silly disco tune. But I'm gonna play something from Groundhog Day, especially in New York. I'll definitely play something from Groundhog Day. I play my favorite song from Matilda, which is called Quiet, which is one of Matilda's songs from the second act. And I do some tunes that people have probably never heard. Some. I play one from 1997, when I was 22, which is a. A swing tune called the Song of the Masochist, which you'd have to be a super fan to have dug up online. So I'm just kind of telling the story of. Of the journey. I've traveled a bit.

[Kusha Navadar]

Yeah. You know, it's interesting to hear you talk about how you're tailoring songs per region. What's it like for you to come back to the United States on a. On a solo tour? How are you receiving it? How has it been so far?

[Tim Minchin]

It's. It's amazing. I don't know why. I. I guess I. I didn't really get much traction in my career till I was about 30 and I'm now 48. And so it still feels quite new to me and quite novel to me that I can, you know, not Tour America for 10 years because I've been doing all this other stuff and then just put a bunch of shows on sale in 1500 seat, 2000 seat theaters and people buy tickets. I feel just so grateful and privileged by that and that I keep managing to step sideways and do different things and my, my core fan base keep following me. And I take the responsibility of that really seriously without being too humorless about it. I, I don't, I don't want to sort of take advantage of my audience's loyalty. So I always try and make sure whatever I'm doing, I really throw myself into it. And apart from anything else, I'm just loving sitting at a piano and playing because I've pushed it out to symphony orchestras and eight piece bands and big bands and I've done so many different things that apart from anything else, I'm just getting better at piano still, which is a real pleasure. And a big part of this concert is kind of proving to people that I'm an actual pianist and not just a clown.

[Kusha Navadar]

I think that's really interesting. How do you feel like you've been improving on the piano? What part of the craft have you been especially enjoying on this tour?

[Tim Minchin]

Oh, that's a very. Only on npr would someone dig into that. I love it. Let's just talk.

[Kusha Navadar]

Well, for full disclosure, I have learned some of your songs on the piano. Tim, that sounds like by. By ear or by YouTube, whatever. Like, you know, inflatable you is something that I can. I used to be able to plunk out. So I am very interested.

[Tim Minchin]

That's. That is a classic. I am largely self taught, I guess. I did up to kind of grade three piano as a kid and quit. And then in my late teens did a couple of years, I did a course and I was hoping I would learn to read music and write music. When I did that course because I wanted to be a composer, I failed to do that. I was way far gone by then. So it's always been a journey for me. I taught myself to play by writing. And in 2005, 2006, when suddenly I went from playing tiny cabaret bars in Melbourne to playing, you know, the Royal Albert hall, over that three or four years, I just. The pressure, the glorious pressure of having an audience watch my comedy. I thought, well, this is, this can only get better if I get better. So something like, I don't know if you remember my song Lullaby, which is like a sort of a classical waltz about trying to get your baby to sleep. It's very dark actually, if anyone wants to avoid looking it up. But. But I just wanted to play a sort of double octave, you know, this sort of. I wanted to fake virtuosity. And the best way to do it is just like practice and practice and practice. So I've always taught myself by writing and playing. And I just. I feel like I'm. I'm just in the middle of the journey, you know, I haven't aspired to be. I'm nowhere near a great jazz player and absolutely nowhere near a great classical player, but I'm kind of. I love that in all the areas I'm interested in, I've still got a long way to go. That's one of the fun things about being a pseudo polymath is that I've only just got started on. I've only written two musicals. I hope to write four or five more, you know, and I hope to keep getting better and better.

[Kusha Navadar]

Yeah, it's so wonderful to be able to see the journey ahead and to enjoy it, no matter the level at which you go. And I think for. Especially for very successful individuals like yourself, it's very refreshing to hear the ways in which you are looking at the craft, because I think it's a lifelong journey for any art form listeners.

[Tim Minchin]

I really appreciate that. Yeah.

[Kusha Navadar]

Yeah. Listeners. We're talking to Tim Minchin, the writer, the musician, composer, comedian. He's performing this Sunday and Monday. That's August 25th and August 26th at the town hall as part of his tour. An unfunny evening with Tim Minchin and his piano. Tim, you had talked about the ways in which your sound and the things that you write about broaden and, you know, I think my most played song in 2012 might have been White Wine in the Sun. So it's a throwback, but let's listen to it a little bit. This is about 40 seconds from that song.

[Tim Minchin]

I'm looking forward to Christmas, though I'm not expecting a visit from Jesus. I'll be seeing my dad, my brother and sisters, my gran and my mom. They'll be drinking white wine in the sun. I'll be seeing my dad, my brother and sisters, my gran and my mom. They'll be drinking white wine in the sun.

[Kusha Navadar]

So the first time I heard that song, at least, I. I stopped in my tracks. I was actually at the gym working out, and it just came on and I stopped and I listened to the whole song. It is so moving, so wonderful. We have a text, I just want to let you know, that came in and said from a listener live, I'm looking forward to his concert on Sunday. So there is so much of the music beyond comedy that moves people with what you make. And I think that's interesting because you do branch into so many different genres and directions. As a professional artist, has it been difficult to achieve that, that flexibility in sound.

[Tim Minchin]

Well, it's not in my nature to sort of lean into how hard it is to be me because I, apart from anything else, I'm a determinist and I believe everything is lucky. But also it's just. Even if you don't believe everything is luck, I've had so much luck, you know, with Matilda doing so well. My first real, you know, big, big musical. It gave me freedom to take more risks and to do things like worry about my craft and worry about stepping sideways knowing that I'm kind of going to be okay. And I can, I can change from 10,000 seaters to 2,000 seaters on a matter of principle like I have, because I don't like those big venues and all those sort of luxuries. But to be honest, I think getting known, you know, to an extent globally, certainly in the UK and Australia, as a comedian and trying to un. Become a comedian and I talk about this on stage in a comic way, is maybe that almost impossible. You know, I can't think of. I guess Steve Martin is a comedian who plays serious music, but I don't know if any. I, I've. I've taken 12 years now to try and not, not never be a comedian, but just to not be boxed in as a comedian. I've slowly, gradually and quite patiently tried to just unpigeonhole myself. And I think I've done. I think I've achieved something that's quite hard to achieve, but as I say, it's because I had the luxury of, of a kind of security. But certainly writing big musicals in America, I think with my musicals and even like Californication and the amount of people who have watched my TV show upright and even like my university speeches, I think in America people understand me to be a bit of a weirdo rather than just a comedian, which is nice for me.

[Kusha Navadar]

Yeah, it is nice. I mean, you used the term polymath. Pseudo polymath, I think, is exactly what you said. But there is this insatiable desire for discovery, I guess in you is what I'm hearing.

[Tim Minchin]

Yeah, I, I just feel so lucky and I, I do have in me. You don't kind of get to where I've got without a bit of competitiveness. And I don't like that word because it's self competitive. It's not. Well, no, it spills over. Like when I see someone, you know, I'm one of those people, if I go see something on Broadway or see a film or see a TV show, And I love it. Part of me is like, damn it, I wish I had. I wish I'd come up with that. You know, it's terrible, but it kind of is how I'm wired. But. But interestingly, I'm not jealous of mega stars. I'm not. I don't wish I could be playing arenas or stadiums. I don't want to be Ed Sheeran. And I don't. Well, I wouldn't. You know, obviously I wouldn't mind the record sales, but that's not what I would am jealous of. I'm jealous. Put it this way, if I wasn't me, I'd be jealous of my career, which is how I know I'm on the right track. Because if I wasn't getting to do all these things, I'd be. I'd be. I'd be striving to. So I.

[Kusha Navadar]

It's that gratitude that you're talking about.

[Tim Minchin]

Yeah, I just always wanted to, you know, I wanted to act. And I love theater and I love making people laugh and I love playing the piano and I love writing. And I just. I'm one of the very few people who have really genuinely got to do it. And you know, people sometimes, you know, some of my fans like, why isn't Tim better known? And I sort of go, well, I'm incredibly happy with how known I am that I can go play a couple of nights at New York Town hall is not something that when I was playing in cover bands at the age of 27, I thought I deserved or was destined for. So, yeah, I'm very happy with where I've ended up, to put it mildly. And I hope to keep doing it. Keep pushing out.

[Kusha Navadar]

We just got another text through here that said, love this song, which is referring to White wine. Yeah, I might have to play it that. I'm sure people would appreciate that. I wanted to talk about a part of that song, actually, your mom, which features in that song. Would it be okay if we talked about her?

[Tim Minchin]

Yeah, of course. Yeah. She's a legend. Well, she was a legend.

[Kusha Navadar]

Yeah. She passed away last November. And I'm so sorry, but also so grateful to hear the parts of her that you share through your music. That song is so moving. I'm wondering, how do you feel her impact on you musically today?

[Tim Minchin]

That's another beautiful only on NPR question. My mom and I were super different and super close. I mean, my whole family's very close. I'm not in a kind of really demonstrative, you know, language based close, but in a constant Contact all the time. I don't know what, what. And someone who wants to be an artist can be given that is more important than just, just I say in the song, these are the people who make you feel safe in this world. And so I don't suppose. My folks weren't musicians and I don't. When I started wanting to be a muso, my mum, of course being a mum was like, well, you should get a backup degree and, you know, like, cut your hair and all that. She wasn't like, you're my brilliant son, you're going to be whatever you want to be. Quite, quite the opposite. They were normal worried about us, parents who held us to account, as in, we weren't to take the mickey, you know, you had to work hard and. But they didn't insist. We were lawyers and doctors or any of those sort of middle class things. But basically the absolute knowledge that we were absolutely loved and safe, that's all that matters. When people ask me about their kids, you know, I think, are my kids really talented? What should I do to help them get ahead? I'm like, well, you can't do anything. They just have to get good and find their voice. All you have to do is make them feel safe. And that doesn't mean pay for their rent. No one paid for my rent or bought me a car or did any of that. They. They just made me know that I'd be all right if I took risks, I wouldn't end up on the street. And I, I really, I mean, I'm not sort of putting my mum on the pedestal she probably deserves to be in on, but I'm not very good at talking romantically about that sort of thing. I mean, I miss her. I actually miss her a lot when I'm on tour for some reason, I guess just come on my own and have time to think. But. And look, she was 74, so she wasn't very old, but she also wasn't very, very young. And I'm a grown man and it's all, it's all acceptable. It does make that song a bit harder to sing. I've lost my gran went. And then my mum went. And I suddenly struck me when my mum went that every, you know, every few years as I play that song, I'm gonna lose someone from the lyric. But I'll. I'll keep. They'll. They'll live it in the song, I suppose.

[Kusha Navadar]

Well, you know, what really struck me was that as I understand it, you performed the day after she passed away. Is that Right.

[Tim Minchin]

The day she passed away. Yeah. Yeah.

[Kusha Navadar]

And, you know, the first time I hosted a show at this station was actually just days after my dad passed away, about two years ago. Yeah. And I felt very connected to you in that sense. And for me, that show that I did sticks out in my mind. And you've performed so many times. So I was wondering, what about that performance stuck out to you? Do you still hold it with you?

[Tim Minchin]

I sort of want to ask you about yours. It feels pretty vivid, doesn't it? Because it's so heightened when you lose someone you love. And I assume you're younger than me and you lost your dad a lot younger, but when. I mean, loss is profound, right?

[Kusha Navadar]

Yeah.

[Tim Minchin]

I mean, there's nothing more profound, maybe apart from birth, than death. And it doesn't mean it's good or bad. Profound is a neutral word, but it is definitely profound. It definitely puts a focus on what matters and brings everything into sharp relief in terms of your values, doesn't it?

[Kusha Navadar]

It does. I was on the younger side to have lost my father. I think I know for me, what you said about gratitude and that feeling of being supported and loved was what I heard. I think felt it for me. For me, it was never really a question of what I do. The show. It was like the.

[Tim Minchin]

The.

[Kusha Navadar]

It's in his honor that I am doing it.

[Tim Minchin]

Yeah. And how do you. How do you bring that feeling not just of gratitude, because gratitude can be very. Oh, you know, that kind of. I'm just so blessed and, you know, I just. I'm so like. Gratitude. Gratitude in its real profound sense, the sort of gratitude you feel when you lose someone that gave you so much is sort of. It wants you to be good, wants you to be better. It makes you want to be better, doesn't it? And so if you have to get on and do your first show a couple of days after you've lost your dad, you sort of want to make sure it's not nothing. Yeah, I suppose you want to make sure you're putting a flag in, whether it be fella for him or just for the fact of. Of. Of you wouldn't be there without him sort of thing.

[Kusha Navadar]

Exactly. That is really well said. Yeah. Go ahead. Go ahead.

[Tim Minchin]

When I did my show that night, I. I guess it's a bit of a blur, probably because I needed a couple of tequilas to get on, but. But I. I said on stage, you know, I didn't tell them till the end of the show because I didn't want them thinking this guy's a psychopath. Because I, of course, was just doing the show. I wasn't moping or crying or just doing ballads. I was doing the show and I was making him laugh. And I told him towards the end and there was this sort of gasp and I said, I just. And this maybe you can relate to if you like White Wine in the Sun. Because White Wine in the sun is about love in a meaningless universe, I suppose, in the end, because I don't have faith or anything. And I said to the audience, you know, I don't have faith. I don't particularly have a culture that I would call my own. I'm just a. A person who lives in ideas and stuff. But if I have a tribe, if I have a community, it's. It's this, it's theater, it's performing. And as far as I know, there isn't ten commandments, there's just one. And. And the one is the show must go on. Whether you've missed a flight or lost a tooth or lost a mum, you go on. And it's not. It's not like, oh, my art is so important. If I don't go on, my poor fans will suffer. It's just good to have something clear in your life as a, you know, like as a sort of, I don't know, a guiding principle of. Of dedication to your craft. You go on. You don't let the audience down, you don't let your castmates down. You just go on. And. And just the clarity of that. On the day my mum died, I wasn't actually in the right city. I had been with her the whole week before when she was lying in a coma. But I had to get back to my family, so I was back in Sydney. And so I had nothing else to do. And I had this clarity. Well, I know what to do. I know exactly what to do. Tonight I go and sit at my piano and put the profundity of this moment into my work, you know?

[Kusha Navadar]

Yeah.

[Tim Minchin]

It felt incredibly clarifying.

[Kusha Navadar]

Clarifying. You describe it as saying, this is my tribe. And that's two ways as well. Right. Like, for me, I can say at least that when I do this, I feel like a very good version of myself. And I feel like I. I'm in an area where I can appreciate the things, the people, the stories. So it is in that way, a little bit selfish too. Right?

[Tim Minchin]

Absolutely. Yeah. That's a really good point. Yeah. You sort of stepping up, having something to step up to makes you your best self, you know, and it can be A moral guideline. It can be a religion or it can be, you know, I, I prefer my moral guidelines. Not too dogmatic. They need to be able to change as you change. But yeah, having a, a place where you're valued and, you know, this, this goes to a wider conversation about, you know, human happiness and stuff. All the, all the studies show that human happiness correlates most to making a meaningful contribution to your community. Right. It doesn't correlate particularly with wealth or, or, you know, the amount of lovers you have or the amount of holidays you go on. It can. It mostly correlates to making a meaningful contribution your community. And I think that is one of the many ways in which I feel blessed. And obviously I can do it in this much over beatified. And that's not the right word. You know, we, we put artists on pedestals. That I think is a bit much. And so I get to have 2,000 people standing up and clapping me. And I. Is that meaningful? I mean, it's. I suppose it is, but either way, I think if there were a hundred people a night, or 50, I'd feel the same gratitude that I, I feel like I'm giving something. And you obviously do when you do your show. And also you have this opportunity to learn and listen. You do a lot more listening than I do. As you can tell. I do a lot of talking, but. Good match.

[Kusha Navadar]

No, but you're right that, you know, we get, we get single callers. You talk to a caller, a time person at a time, and any of that one on one is deeply meaningful, as you're saying, as compared to 2,000 folks. Um, it's very insightful. I'm so happy that we got to talk about that because it is an interesting look. Like that sharp clarity of focus that you're talking about that big moments in our lives bring into effect is important.

[Tim Minchin]

Yeah.

[Kusha Navadar]

You've got a new book coming out next year in the US at least it's getting released next year. It's called you don't have to have a Dream. Can you tell us a little bit about it, where that title comes from?

[Tim Minchin]

Well, I made a university speech for my alma mater. It's called the University of West Australia. Ten years ago now, almost. Almost to the day, actually. October 2014, I think it was. They gave me an honorary doctorate, which was very kind of them. And I made a speech that I wrote kind of in a couple of days before, and I thought I was 38 at that point, and I thought I didn't feel very grown up. But I did realize that I was close to 20 years older than a lot of the graduates I'd be speaking to. 18 years older. I thought, well, I might as well do one of these. Kind of, these are my values, kind of. It's a bit ostentatious, but I thought, come on, like I'm quite well known in Australia. I might as well just, you know, lean into the ostentation of my honorary doctorate. I have a floppy hat and a cape on. I might as well pontificate. So I just did this speech and it got known as nine life lessons. I didn't call it that, but it's really just the nine. Nine things that I think that I value in my sort of humanist worldview. And it went ridiculously viral. Some, some sort of self help website stole it and got 200 million views off it. I did write to them and say, what's happening to the money from the ads? And they're like, aren't you grateful that we shared your speech? And I'm like, yeah, but what's happening to the money from the ads? And they just went. Disappeared. Anyway, so that speech has the lesson number one is you don't have to have a dream. And it's all about being incrementally ambitious is the phrase I used, which is just being really passionate about what you're. And this comes back to our clarity we've been talking about. But if you're really passionate about what's in front of you, the next opportunity will arise. And if you set your sights too far in front of you, you might miss those adjacent opportunities. Right. You might miss what's in your periphery. And so that was the kind of first lesson on the most famous speech. And a couple of publishers came after me and eventually Penguin, Random House convinced me they were super passionate about making that speech into a book. But as it happens, I've done two other speeches for two other very kindly bestowed honorary doctorates. One really about music and one really about acting. All of them linked together because they're really about authenticity and.

[Kusha Navadar]

And so it's kind of bringing all of those lessons together.

[Tim Minchin]

Yeah. So the three speeches are in the book, plus three essays I wrote this year to accompany them, plus an introduction, plus these beautiful illustrations. It's kind of. I don't know who it's pitched at. I hope anyone from sort of 15 to 35 who's still trying to figure out what their path is or older. I'm really excited about it.

[Kusha Navadar]

Yeah, it'll be great to see it. We have a text here that says, will there be an audiobook? I'd love to hear Tim read the book out loud.

[Tim Minchin]

So maybe that's in the future recorded. And I think you can even pre order the audiobook if you want, just to. Just to show me your intention to listen to it. You don't even have to listen to it. Just pre order it.

[Kusha Navadar]

Another text here says, tim Minchin is one of my favorite people on the planet. And I think that's a wonderful way to wrap this up. We've been talking to Tim Minchin, the writer, musician, composer, comedian. He's performing this Sunday, August 25 and Monday, August 26, at the Town Hall. Maybe there will be a song about teeth. Who knows? Don't want to have to have you relive it, but go find out. It's called An Unfunny Evening with Tim Minchin and His Piano. Tim, thank you so much for your work and hanging out with us.

[Tim Minchin]

Thank you. That's just really gorgeous to talk to you. Thank you.

[Kusha Navadar]

I'mma put you on, nephew. All right.

[Tim Minchin]

Don't. Welcome to McDonald's. Can I take your order, miss?

[Kusha Navadar]

I've been hitting up McDonald's for years now.

[Tim Minchin]

It's back.

[Kusha Navadar]

We need snack wraps.

[Tim Minchin]

What's a snack wrap?

[Kusha Navadar]

It's the return of something great. Snack wrap is back.

[Tim Minchin]

Let's say your small business has a problem. Like, maybe.

[Kusha Navadar]

One of your doggy daycare customers had an accident.

[Tim Minchin]

You might say something like, doggone it. Hey, Chihuahua. Holy schnauzers. But if you need someone who can actually help, just say, like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. And get help filing a claim from your local State Farm agent for your small business insurance needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.