October 2011

Tonight, Saturday October 29th, at 10pm ET/PT, Tim will be on The Comedy Network’s ‘Just for Laughs: AMP’D’. An exclusive programme mixing unique musical styles and outstanding comedy. It was filmed at this year’s Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal.

“Weird Al” Yankovic, legendary pop satirist, is hosting the one-hour special which has an amazing line up featuring: Tim, Bo Burnham, Reggie Watts, Tom Green and comedy-folk duo Garfunkel & Oates.

You can find out a little more information on the show and the line up here and if it is to be made available here’s The Comedy Network’s website and video player. However, there is no indication as yet that it will find its way on there, so either try to catch the show or perhaps record it in order not to miss it.

Unfortunately for those of us outside Canada there doesn’t seem to be a way to view this programme internationally.

Finally, we can bring you all the details of Tim’s forthcoming DVD and Blu-ray release of Tim Minchin and The Heritage Orchestra!

Filmed in stunning high-definition at the Royal Albert Hall in London with the fabulous Heritage Orchestra (led by the suave Jules Buckley), this show features reimaginings of classic hits, such as You Grew On Me, Not Perfect, Dark Side, Prejudice and Rock n Roll Nerd alongside brand-spanking new tracks, including Cont, Thank You God, Cheese, Lullaby and The Fence!

There will, of course, also be some succulent extras included, which come in the shape of the gorgeous animated Storm movie and the mini-documentary, Behind the scenes: Nothing Ruins Comedy Like Arenas & Tim Meets the Orchestra!

In Australia it’ll be out on the 23rd November on DVD and Blu-ray.

In the UK it’ll be released on the 14th November on DVD, Double play (DVD and Blu-ray) and as a special, limited, DVD edition from Amazon, which comes with an exclusive t-shirt (size: medium) and a bonus CD of Tim performing two tracks from Matilda The Musical, all packaged nicely in a collector’s tin.

If you’re looking for a place to get your paws on copies, then we’ll have links for you to do just that on the Shop Tab (above) shortly. Simply select your shop from Australasia, Europe or North America. Alternatively, check out Amazon or your usual retailer.

We’ll also have some exclusive clips available for you soon, however, to whet your appetite for this feast of a show, here’s the trailer for the UK release! Extra points if you can name who’s doing the voiceover!

Tracklist:
1. I’m In A Cage
2. Rock N Roll Nerd
3. Cont
4. If I Didn’t Have You
5. Thank You God
6. You Grew On Me
7. The Fence
8. Prejudice
9. Lullaby
10. The Pope Song
11. Cheese
12. Beauty
13. Dark Side
14. Not Perfect
15. White Wine In The Sun

Think you’ve missed out on seeing Tim with your favourite symphony orchestra? The good news is that you haven’t as new dates have just been announced in Sydney and Perth!

Sydneysiders, Tim will be ripping it up with the SSO, once again, at the State Theatre on the 2nd February 2012.

Perthites, you’ll get to see Tim kicking ass with the WASO for a second time at the Challenge Stadium on the 12th February 2012.

Tickets for both of these dates go on general sale on 2nd November, however, we’ve got the lovely pre-sale password for you, which is good for both shows, so that you can get your mitts on tickets now until 5pm on the 1st November from Ticketmaster!

That password is, ‘cage‘.

There are still tickets available for the rest of the orchestra gigs too, and, from experience, even sitting at the back won’t hamper your enjoyment of this astounding spectacle!

Tim’s been added to the glorious line up for most of the dates on the upcoming December Uncaged Monkeys tour.

The Uncaged Monkeys sell-out spring tour was so hugely successful, delightfully boggling, fascinating and amusing minds up and down the country that Robin Ince and Brian Cox decided to do it all again. They hit the road: 6th-15th December 2011 with a brand new show bringing their infectious enthusiasm and excitement about the wonders of science to several theatres around the country. They’ll be joined once more by Ben Goldacre, Simon Singh, Helen Arney and a variety of special guests.

Tim will be monkeying with them for the following dates:

Manchester: O2 Apollo on Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th December
Plymouth: Pavilions on Saturday 10th December
London: HMV Hammersmith Apollo on Wednesday 14th December
Brighton: Dome on Thursday 15th December

More information can be found at www.robinince.com and links to numerous ticket agencies for these December shows can be found here.

Passing any news stands or magazine racks in central London today? – then look out!

In central London newsagents, Tim will be looking right back at you all scarily awesome from the front cover of Time Out’s Halloween issue. He’s spooking it out on there with Eleanor Worthington Cox, one of the four young actresses who’ll be playing the title role in Matilda The Musical, which has its first preview tonight, at the Cambridge Theatre in London.

Those who subscribe should see Tim on your doormats tomorrow, with all other London outlets stocking it by then too.

Inside the magazine Tim talks about Matilda The Musical, for which he wrote the music and lyrics, with Time Out London’s theatre editor Caroline McGinn.

If you are not subscribed or in London or are simply frightfully impatient then you might like to take a look at this.

Update: the interview is now available to read online here!

For more information and tickets to the show take a look at the Matilda The Musical website or catch up with the Matilda page on this site, where you’ll find lots of videos, less spooky photos and more.

Tim’s a cover boy!

If you’re in the UK and not yet got yourself a copy of the rocking Tim Minchin and The Heritage Orchestra, Live in Manchester CD, then here’s some good news for you!

On the 31st October, next Monday, this album will be properly released and, for the first time in the UK, available in your local independent record shop (or HMV)! Of course, if they have an appalling taste in music and haven’t got it in stock, then you’ll be able to order it in.

Alternatively, you can order it online from the usual places, who are also offering pre-orders for it at the moment!

There’s something a bit special on the radio today! Tim will be appearing live on In Tune with his Matilda The Musical partner-in-crime, Dennis Kelly. The dastardly duo (Tim’s Muttley, obviously) will be discussing the imminent opening of the musical and Tim will also being performing snippets of songs from the show!

In Tune will be broadcast on Radio Three, today at 4:30pm, and will be available on iPlayer afterwards. Also, as it’s radio, this is will be available for for everyone to listen to!

As if that wasn’t enough to get excited by, Channel 4 (and Channel 4 HD, for those with unhealthy obsession with pores and follicles) seem to be dedicating their late night schedule to Tim this Friday!

The whole thing starts at 10:35pm when Tim will be making his second appearance on 8 out of 10 Cats alongside Rachel Riley, Vernon Kay and Joe Wilkinson. After having to deal with Uri Gellar on his last appearance, this one should be a doddle…

Immediately after 8 out of 10 Cats, at 11:05pm, Channel 4 will be premiering a cut-down version of Tim’s ‘Ready For This?‘! Filmed at Hammersmith Apollo, years ago (approximately two), this will be worth watching if only for the flashy lights and impressive pyrotechnics and choreography. Oh, and there’ll be a weird-looking bloke bashing out a few tunes on a piano too, if you’re into that kind of thing.

If the thrill of an ARIA nomination wasn’t enough, Tim is up for yet another award, with this one being his first for his work on Matilda The Musical!

Specifically, Tim has been shortlisted for Best Stage Work at the British Composer Awards. He’s up against Orlando Gough, for his work on A Ring A Lamp A Thing, and Joby Talbot, for his work on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The winners will be announced on the 30th November.

This isn’t the only award Matilda The Musical is up for at the moment, with it being up for Best Musical Production, and Bertie Carvel being up for Best Performance in a Musical at the Theatre Awards UK! Winners for those will be announced on the 30th October.

As if you needed another reason or three to book your tickets to see it!

Irish folk, did you lament the lack of an interview with Tim on last week’s Late, Late Show? Well if you fancy tuning into the ultra-hip and trendy* teenage magazine show Juice, today on RTÉ Two at 5:30pm then you’ll be able to see an interview with him! It will also be on the RTÉ Player afterwards.

UK folk, unfortunately, unlike The Late, Late Show, you won’t be able to catch this one after it’s aired on the RTÉ Player.

*might be a lie – I’ve never seen the show

Tim will be appearing at the Altitude Comedy Festival in Mayrhofen, Austria, 26 – 31st March 2012. He’ll be performing comedy après ski not giving skiing lessons but will doubtless be donning some winter sports apparel, befitting a style icon,* at some point.

The idea is you spend your days skiing or snowboarding on the slopes and if you survive that and stay out of plaster, you can rest your aching limbs and soothe any chafed bits whilst enjoying comedy festival fun in the evenings.

If you fancy 6 days of comedy, winter sports, spas and partying then Altitude Comedy Festival is sold as an accommodation and entertainment package. You can check out the full details and line ups here or if you’re feeling lucky there’s an opportunity to win 5 pairs of tickets just by signing up to their mailing list.

*shiny hot pink salopettes and perhaps some mittens…

Heads up! Tim’s returning to the US next month and you can still grab tickets to these gigs:

New York
Friday 4th of November 2011
Venue: Town Hall
Tickets

Providence
Saturday 5th of November 2011
Venue: Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel
Tickets

Chicago
Thursday 10th of November 2011
Venue: The Vic Theatre
Tickets

So if you’ve yet to see the rock ‘n’ roll nerd uniquely tackle rationalism, love and taboos or you have a hankering for another chance to see Tim’s lyrical and musical gymnastics (he can no longer get insurance for actual gymnastics as his pants are being chosen for their ever tighter fit…*) hit those links and prepare for fall fun!

* some of the words in parenthesis might not be true.

Tim’s latest album, Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra, has been nominated for the Best Comedy Release ARIA Award! Up against him will be:

• Adam Hills – Inflatable
• Buddy Goode – The One and Only Buddy Goode
• Hamish and Andy – Celebrating 50 Glorious Years
• Josh Thomas – ‘Surprise’

For those unaware of the ARIA Awards, they are commonly thought of as the Australian equivalent to the UK’s Brits and the US’s Grammys! Not bad, eh?

There’s also a public vote for the best live performance, which is open for any artist to win, not that we’re suggesting that you Australians should vote for Tim, of course…

The winners will be announced on the 27th November. Good luck, Tim!

Hey, Irelandians! Tim will be flying off (literally – he’ll be wearing a Superman costume and everything*) from his gig in Dublin tomorrow to make an appearance on RTÉ’s Late, Late Show!

The topical show will kick off tomorrow on RTÉ One at 9:35pm, with Tim expected to make an appearance shortly after 11pm. Let’s hope he remembers to put his underwear back on the inside beforehand!

*may not be true

So here’s the second part of the very beardy, slightly sniggery video of Tim and Dennis Kelly interviewing each other at the Cambridge Theatre last month, using questions posed by fans of the musical on Twitter:

You might also like to know that Matilda The Musical has been nominated for two 2011 Theatre Awards UK – Best Musical Production and Best Performance in a Musical for Bertie Carvel, who talks about his role here in the Evening Standard.

For more information head over to the Matilda The Musical website or catch up with the Matilda page on this site, where you’ll find part one of this interview and much more.

Last month, before Tim headed stateside once again, he and Dennis Kelly popped into the Cambridge Theatre to take a look at the transformations taking place and to giggle whilst asking each other some of the questions posed by those out there in the twitterverse:

For more information head over to the Matilda The Musical website or catch up with the Matilda page on this site.