Tim Minchin

Tim Minchin began his career as a straight musician, but found himself writing songs that expressed comic ideas, or took on loaded topics like religion in a comedic way. His act—a solo stage show that combines piano songs with the occasional heady bit—came about naturally, as did his rise in international popularity. His 2005 solo show, Darkside , was met with critical praise and later recorded as a top-selling album, as was 2006’s So Rock . After winning the award for Best Alternative Act at the 2007 HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, Minchin began his run as an Edinburgh Festival Fringe staple, debuting a string of new shows and material. Last year he co-wrote the music for Matilda, A Musical , based on the Roald Dahl books, which begins an open-ended run at the Cambridge Theatre this fall. Minchin’s introduction to the United States, though, has been much more deliberate. He’s appeared on Conan twice this year, and is in the midst of his first-ever U.S. tour. Fans are coming out of the woodwork, eager to hear Minchin’s layered, bitingly satirical ditties, or simply sing along to the lyrics, “Fuck the motherfucking pope.” During his stop at the Just For Laughs festival in Chicago, The A.V. Club sat down with Minchin—crazy hair, eyeliner and all—to discuss his discomfort with the term “musical comedian,” his deliberate career choices, and his relationship with applause.

The A.V. Club: Have you noticed any discrimination against musical comedians? The phrase often gets a bad rap.

Tim Minchin: When I came into comedy in 2005, I didn’t even know there was discrimination against musical comics in the alternative-comedy strain. I was saying, “I’m cool. I don’t really give a fuck.” I come from a cabaret, musical theater background, not a comedy background, so it didn’t even cross my mind. And then the interviewer started going, “So how do you deal with the fact that everyone knows musical comedy sucks?” I’m like, “Eh, call it what you want. What I do is write. I’m a songwriter and the lyrics are meant to make you laugh.” Then I understood that what they’re talking about is the tradition of, you know, in a club night you’ll have a guy with a ukulele or playing four chords [on a guitar], and he’s leaning on rhymes and misdirection.

AVC: It can be an easy way for a mediocre comic to stand out—to have a hook.