COFFEE BREAK AT TUTTI WITH CONNOR MOREL

WE CAUGHT UP WITH CONNOR (ACTOR, MUSICIAN, WRITER AND ALL‑ROUND LEGEND) AT TUTTI CAFÉ RIGHT BEFORE HE HEADED TO SOUTH AUSTRALIA TO PREMIERE GOOD MAN AT ADELAIDE FRINGE FESTIVAL. HE GAVE US THE STORY BEHIND THE SHOW THAT’S SET TO ENTHRALL GEELONG AUDIENCES THIS MARCH. 

AND WHEN THE GLOWING REVIEWS STARTED ROLLING IN AFTER THOSE FIRST SHOWS AT ADELAIDE FRINGE, WE COULDN’T HELP BUT FEEL A TINY BIT PROUD. WE DEFINITELY HAD A LITTLE “WE KNEW HIM BEFORE HE WAS FAMOUS” MOMENT.

THANKS FOR JOINING US HERE AT OUR FAVOURITE COFFEE SPOT. BEFORE WE START, WHAT’S YOUR GO-TO ORDER?

SMALL LATTE WITH REGULAR MILK. ICED IF IT’S A HOT DAY. OBVIOUSLY. THERE’S NO OTHER OPTION THAT MAKES SENSE.

YOU SAID YOU ARE A BIT JETLAGGED. WHERE HAVE YOU JUST BEEN AND WHERE ARE YOU GOING NEXT?

I’VE JUST COME OFF A PLANE FROM NEW YORK PERFORMING A DIFFERENT SHOW OFF-BROADWAY WITH A COMEDIAN CALLED JOSH GLANC, AND I’M ABOUT TO CATCH A PLANE OVER TO THE ADELAIDE FRINGE FESTIVAL TO GIVE GOOD MAN TO AUDIENCES FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.

ARE YOU NERVOUS FOR WHAT THE REACTION WILL BE?

NO, NOT AT ALL. I’M TOTALLY, COMPLETELY FINE ABOUT IT. WHAT’S THERE TO BE WORRIED ABOUT?

OH, WELL THAT’S GOOD.

I’M LYING. I’M MORE NERVOUS THAN I’VE EVER BEEN FOR ANYTHING IN MY WHOLE LIFE. 

MORE NERVOUS THAN THE NIGHT YOU MET YOUR DAD?

ALMOST DEFINITELY.

GOOD MAN IS ABOUT MEETING HIM AT ONE OF YOUR OWN GIGS. DID YOU EVER EXPECT TO MEET HIM AT ALL?

I THINK SO. I GUESS AS A YOUNG BOY WHO WAS GROWING UP WANTING TO PLAY MUSIC AND DO THEATRE, I KIND OF HAD AN IDEA THAT IF I WAS IN THE PUBLIC EYE ENOUGH, MAYBE MY DAD FIND ME THAT WAY. I JUST DIDN’T KNOW WHEN IT WAS GOING TO BE, AND I CERTAINLY DIDN’T THINK IT WOULD BE ON THAT PARTICULAR NIGHT, OR AT MY OWN GIG.

DO YOU THINK THE URGE FOR SEEKING A BIT OF FAME AND RECOGNITION WAS DRAWN FROM WANTING TO CONNECT WITH YOUR DAD? 

HA, I HAVEN'T DONE ENOUGH THERAPY TO ANSWER THAT! BUT YEAH, MAYBE. GROWING UP IN THE ARTS, IT'S KIND OF SOLD TO YOU THAT A SUCCESSFUL CAREER IN THE ARTS IS EITHER JUSTIN BIEBER OR NOTHING, AND I DIDN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND THE METRICS OF WHAT SUCCESS WAS IN THE ARTS. MAYBE A BIT OF BOTH?

AND WHEN YOU DID MEET YOUR DAD FOR THE FIRST TIME, WHAT THOUGHTS WERE GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND IN THAT MOMENT? 

I REALLY THOUGHT HE WOULD FIX EVERYTHING ABOUT MY LIFE. I RECKON AS ADULTS LOOKING BACK ON OUR CHILDHOODS WE ALWAYS THINK ABOUT THINGS THAT WE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO BE DIFFERENT AND I THOUGHT THAT WHEN MY DAD ROCKED UP, I WOULD GET THE CHILDHOOD THAT I SAW IN THE MOVIES, SO I GUESS I PLACED A LOT OF PRESSURE ON THE MOMENT. AND OF COURSE, I WAS DISAPPOINTED BECAUSE LIFE’S NOT A FAIRYTALE. LIFE IS LIFE. AND IT’S BEAUTIFUL FOR THAT REASON, BECAUSE IT’S UNEXPECTED.

WHAT’S A HOLLYWOOD CHILDHOOD TO YOU?

PLAYING CATCH, YOU KNOW, WITH A BASEBALL. WE DON'T EVEN REALLY PLAY BASEBALL IN THIS COUNTRY. BUT I IMAGINED THE GLOVE. I IMAGINED A GLOVE AND A BASEBALL. 

IF YOU COULD GO BACK TO THAT MOMENT AND LEAVE 18-YEAR-OLD CONNOR A VOICEMAIL, WHAT WOULD YOU TELL HIM? 

I’D SAY: CHILL OUT, BRO. THIS IS JUST ANOTHER MOMENT IN A LIFE FULL OF MOMENTS. AND YOU MAY HAVE FEELINGS AND IDEAS ABOUT WHAT THIS MOMENT IS GOING TO FEEL LIKE, BUT JUST LET THEM EXIST. JUST GO WITH THE FLOW AND, REMEMBER THAT YOU HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE THAT LOVE YOU, AND YOU'RE NOT MISSING OUT ON ANYTHING, AND YOU NEVER HAVE.

WOULD HE LISTEN? 

OF COURSE NOT. HE’D SAY: “SHUT THE F**K UP, MAN.”  

WHAT MUSIC WAS 18-YEAR-OLD CONNOR LISTENING TO AND HAS YOUR TASTES DEVELOPED, OR ARE YOU STILL JAMMING TO THE SAME PLAYLIST? 

YES, STILL JAMMING TO THE SAME PLAYLIST, BUT ALSO OTHER STUFF. BACK THEN IN 2015, I WAS LISTENING TO MUMFORD AND SONS, THIRSTY MERC, TRIPLE J, JUNGLE GIANTS AND A LOT OF HAMILTON. TO BE FAIR I’M STILL CRANKING OUT HAMILTON TEN YEARS LATER. 

I STILL LISTEN TO THE SAME STUFF, BUT ALSO LISTENING TO A LOT OF SAM FENDER, LOTS OF GEESE, LOTS OF CAMERON WINTER, AND I'M LISTENING TO THE MUSIC FROM THE MUSICAL MAYBE HAPPY ENDING. I SAW IT FIVE DAYS AGO ON BROADWAY AND HAVE NOT STOPPED, IT’S AMAZING. 

YOU SPENT TIME LEARNING FROM THE FRENCH MASTER CLOWN, PHILIPPE GAULIER, WHO IS KNOWN FOR HIS LEGENDARILY TERRIFYING TEACHING STYLE, PUSHING PERFORMERS TO BE THEIR AUTHENTIC SELVES. WHAT DID YOU DISCOVER ABOUT YOURSELF AND WHAT SURPRISED YOU? 

I LEARNED THAT TO BE WORTH ANYTHING AS A PERFORMER, YOU MUST BE IN TOUCH WITH THE AUDIENCE AND SENSITIVE TO WHAT THEY ARE FEELING AT ANY GIVEN TIME. AND IF YOU AREN’T LISTENING TO WHAT YOUR AUDIENCE WANTS, GET OFF STAGE. 

I WASN'T VERY FUNNY IN THE CLASS AND I FAILED A LOT. HE ONLY SAID I WAS FUNNY ONCE OUT OF THE WHOLE TWO WEEKS I WAS THERE, AND THE REST OF THE TIME HE WAS LIKE: “BORING, MELBOURNE SHIT.” THAT'S WHAT HE SAID. HE WAS ONE OF THE FUNNIEST PEOPLE I’D EVER MET. AND HE WAS NEVER WRONG. EVERY TIME HE SAID HE HATED SOMETHING SOMEONE WAS DOING, HE WAS ALWAYS RIGHT. BEFORE YOU EVEN COULD UNDERSTAND THAT YOU DIDN'T LIKE WHAT YOU WERE SEEING (AS AN AUDIENCE MEMBER OBSERVING SOMEONE’S PEFORMANCE), HE WOULD BE BANG A DRUM TO TELL YOU TO GET OFF STAGE BECAUSE YOU ARE FAILING AT MAKING THE AUDIENCE LAUGH. 

EVENTUALLY, AS A PERFORMER, YOU GET AN AWARENESS FOR WHEN HE'S GOING TO TAP THAT DRUM AND YOU AVOID THAT DRUM AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. AND THE MORE YOU GET BETTER AT AVOIDING THE DRUM, THE MORE YOU GET BETTER AT UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE AUDIENCE WANTS AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME. 

AND IT’S THE QUIETER MOMENTS OF OUR SHOW THAT I AM ABLE TO TAP INTO THAT SENSITIVITY. BUT I’M CONSTANTLY STILL PROCESSING THE LESSONS HE TAUGHT. HE RECENTLY PASSED AWAY. MAY REST IN PEACE!

YOU HAVE PLAYED IN EVERYTHING FROM RENT TO ELVIS TO LORD OF THE RINGS: A MUSICAL TALE. HOW DID STEPPING INTO YOUR OWN STORY DIFFER EMOTIONALLY FROM STEPPING INTO SOMEBODY ELSE'S STORY? 

IT'S VERY CONFRONTING, PARTICULARLY WITH THIS ONE. WITH MY LAST SOLO SHOW, IT WASN'T AS EMOTIONAL AND INTRINSICALLY TIED TIED TO MY OWN IDENTITY. BUT BECAUSE THIS ONE IS SO DEEPLY PERSONAL, I HAVE TO GO THROUGH IT EVERY TIME I PERFORM IT. I’VE HAD TO INVENT A CHARACTER TO BE ABLE TO DISTANCE MYSELF A LITTLE, BECAUSE OTHERWISE I'M JUST RELIVING A NIGHT FROM TEN YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS A VERY DIFFERENT PERSON. AND BECAUSE THE SHOW IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO PLAY, IN TERMS OF THE AMOUNT OF STUFF THAT WE ALL HAVE TO DO - LIKE, I'M PLAYING INSTRUMENTS, I'M SINGING THE SONGS, I'M RECITING ABOUT 8,000 WORDS, BUT ALSO THE BAND IS PLAYING INSTRUMENTS AND SINGING AND SAYING SOME LINES TOO - THE PHYSICAL EXPENSE IS QUITE DIFFICULT IN A WAY THAT I HAVEN'T REALLY EXPERIENCED BEFORE.

THIS SHOW BLENDS COMEDY, SINCERITY AND THE ENERGY OF A ROCK GIG. WHAT EMOTION DO YOU THINK AUDIENCE WOULD LEAST EXPECT TO FEEL?  

I THINK VALIDATED AND SEEN. MAYBE THERE'S A CONVERSATION THAT THEY HAVEN'T EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT HAVING WITH SOMEONE CLOSE TO THEM, THAT THEY MIGHT BE IMPLORED TO HAVE 

IT'S INTENTIONALLY QUITE VULNERABLE. BECAUSE MEN DON'T LOVE TO BE VULNERABLE. I CERTAINLY HAVE STRUGGLED WITH THAT. BUT BEING VULNERABLE IS VERY HELPFUL FOR US AS HUMANS. 

IN AN EARLIER VERSION OF THE SHOW I COMPLETELY SEPARATED MYSELF FROM THE STORY BY FICTIONALIZING IT A LOT, AND IT WAS SO CLEAR TO US THAT I WASN'T BEING VULNERABLE ENOUGH, I WASN'T BEING GENUINE. WE EVENTUALLY REALISED THAT I WAS JUST SCARED TO REVISIT THAT NIGHT AND ALSO NEEDED TO GET THE BALANCE RIGHT BETWEEN COMEDY AND SERIOUSNESS. COMEDY IS NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO PROCESS AND MAKE PEOPLE FEEL SOMETHING. SO, THERE IS LIGHT AND SHADE, BUT WHO WANTS TO SEE A SHOW IF IT’S ALL F**KING SHADE? 

WHICH IS WHERE THE GIG THEATRE COMES IN, WITH LIVE MUSIC AND COMEDIC STORYTELLING. THERE’S SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE. IT FEELS LIKE A GIG, IT JUST HAS A REAL THEATRICALITY TO IT. BY THE END WE HOPE THE AUDIENCE WILL BE THINKING: "WELL, THIS WAS A GIG, BUT NOT IN A WAY I’VE EVER SEEN BEFORE.” 

CATCH GOOD MAN AT GEELONG ARTS CENTRE 

FRIDAY 13 AND SATURDAY 14 MARCH 2026