Before he was that guy on Australian Survivor sporting the Port Adelaide Football Club colours week in week out, Matt Tarrant was a multi-award winning Magician. And that’s definitely an identity he’s happy with.
It’s almost like we need to address this elephant in the room before the magic begins in earnest. After all, reality television is a limelight which fades as quickly as it rises and while Tarrant was quite successful on the show he was there for personal reasons, not for his profession.
“Since I’ve come back, I’ve noticed that recently when I do shows the audience definitely do have a a few changed expectations of how the show might be, and they kind of want to meet me afterwards. That’s nice, definitely flattering, but what I do on stage is really not about being the dude on the reality show. It hasn’t change the performance or on stage persona. If I was to do that, I think it would be a bit cheesy. Being on television doesn’t mean that I want to shift to that as a focus. It gives me a great opportunity to open up some media doors, but I don’t want people to come to the show thinking of me in that context. And I don’t think audences would like that either. My magic has connected with people in the past before all this, and that’s how things are going to move forward.”
And the opportunity to keep moving forward is exactly what Tarrant is putting his energy towards. His current touring show ‘Honestly Dishonest’ has won consecutive awards at the Adelaide Fringe, and provided a base from which he can experiment, test new tricks, and keep pushing his own skills, something which his televised break surprisingly had no effect upon.
“I hadn’t even considered how the break would effect the tricks, and a couple of weeks after I came home I was booked for a show. I think my brain just turned back on. Actually with some of the free time I had on the show I got to sit back and think about magic, about some tricks I’ve been trying to develop. I’ve come back, my head is completely refreshed and I’ve actually been able to work on tricks I’ve been developing for six or seven years now.”
Which is exactly where the show is now developing. And the opportunity to perform at the Shedley Theatre in Playford is also going to provide him a chance to experiment. Honestly Dishonest will still have a similar feel to his previous performances, but with a couple of days to test new tricks in the theatre before the show, expect some unseen and likely untested live elements to the performance.
“Because people have seen me on TV now, they feel like they can be a lot more honest with me after shows. What worked and what didn’t work, and that’s good for me to hear. I have to make sure I’m really good to make sure I meet the expectations of people coming to see the show.
And he’s especially keen to perform in Playford as a great opportunity to enjoy one of the most beautiful suburban theatres in the State.
“It’s interesting, I’ve had a relationship with Playford for a little while. The team have been looking to add shows to the local community that hadn’t usually been brought to the area. I did Deception there a few years ago and it’s a beautiful space. All of these old theatres which not a lot of people visit, are an opportunity for people like me. A lot of councils don’t stick with theatre programs, because instant success isn’t easy, but these guys keep opening the door. And I’ll keep coming back.
Matt Tarrant‘s ‘Honestly Dishonest’ will be at the Shedley Theatre in Playford on Saturday, 19 November. For tickets, follow this link.
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