Tim Minchin to Appear in the Lyric's ENCOUNTERS: PERFORMERS ON PERFORMANCE Series, July 7

ENCOUNTERS: Performers on Performance is a unique series of one to one conversations with high profile performers, talking personally, candidly and entertainingly about their life and art. ENCOUNTERS: Performers on Performance opened at the Lyric Theatre on 20th January 2014 over monthly Monday evenings with Fiona Lindsay conducting the interviews.

TIM MINCHIN (Monday, 7 July 2014) is the next guest performers to appear in ENCOUNTERS: Performers on Performance, following the tremendously well received evenings with DAVID SUCHET and RUBY WAX.

TIM MINCHIN is a musician, composer, songwriter, actor, comedian and writer; he has been performing his unique brand of musical comedy in front of appropriately excitable and ever-growing audiences for years. Working with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), Tim wrote the music and lyrics for Matilda The Musical. This adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic has been playing to packed and excited houses at the Cambridge Theatre in London's West End since October 2011, winning great critical acclaim and a stack of awards, including a world record breaking seven Laurence Olivier awards. Matilda opened in Broadway's Shubert Theatre, April 2013, and has since broken box office records and won four 2013 Tony Awards, having received an astounding twelve nominations. Another first for Tim was his long-awaited US theatre tour in 2011, with dates countrywide and a couple of US festivals. 2012 saw him in the US again for a few more dates and to play at Reason Rally. In the UK too, Tim is much in demand for festivals and summer 2012 saw a great many performances at open air events, usually with his band, including The Eden Sessions, Somerset House, Latitude and V. He performed at Homebake Music, Film & Arts Festival 2012: The Global edition, Sydney Australia in December 2012. In May 2012, in another first, Tim performed a selection of non-comedy songs at London's 100 Club in a "humourless" gig with his as yet unnamed band. Tim's many TV appearances include most recently, in the UK, QI (BBC), the Royal Variety Performance (ITV1), hosting an episode of Never Mind The Buzzcocks (BBC), appearing twice on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (BBC) and 8 Out of 10 Cats (Channel 4) and even beloved children's programme Blue Peter! In Australia TV credits include: Spicks and Specks (ABC), Good News Week (Network Ten), Adam Hills In Gordon St Tonight (ABC1). On US TV he's appeared on Conan three times (11/10c on tbs) and The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS). Tim is an Ambassador for The Prince's Foundation for Children and the Arts, Patron of the WA Youth Theatre and keen supporter of Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity. When not on tour, Tim lives in LA with his wife and two children.

ENCOUNTERS: Performers on Performance is produced by Kim Poster for Stanhope Productions. Further performers to be announced.

The series runs at the LYRIC THEATRE, SHAFTESBURY AVENUE, LONDON, W1D 7ES. TIM MINCHIN will appear on Monday, 7 July 2014. Box Office 0844 412 4663 or www.nimaxtheatres.com. Tickets £20 - £29.