Tim Minchin: THE LUCKY MAN

BACK FOR SEASON 2 OF UPRIGHT, THE STAR COULDN'T BE HAPPIER- OR BUSIER

- Naomi Toy

Being Tim Minchin must be exhausting. When WHO caught up with him over Zoom for a chat last month, he was in the midst of furiously promoting the return of Lucky Flynn in Upright S2, about to play before thousands on the steps of the Sydney Opera House, travelling overseas to talk up the movie Matilda The Musical, trying to find time to write a pilot for a TV show, and no doubt work on other projects he wasn’t ready to speak about. Then, there’s everything that’s going on inside his head.

“It’s quite tiring,” he explains. “It’s not in my nature to not think about things. Nothing goes unexamined, it’s how my brain works. My brain just spends all day, every day going over ideas. It doesn’t do anecdotes, it’s just unpacking s--t all the time.”

Not that there’s a hint of complaint in any of this though. Quite the opposite. “I’m absolutely clear that there’s no point making it if you’re not going to flog it,” he explains. “Art is meant to be seen and heard, and I want people to see it and hear it. I’m so f---ing lucky … I’m so grateful for all of it. I’ve got to do all the art I’ve ever wanted. I’m not trapped into being a comedian, I’ve worked very, very hard to untrap myself, and I’ve got there.”

What convinced you to make a second season of Upright? Was part of it knowing the audience loved it and wanted more?