One the Line: Matthew Mitcham on his new Fringe show

Matthew Mitcham is heading back to Perth with his new cabaret show Under the Covers.

The Olympic gold medalist dived into his cabaret career at Fringe World a few years ago with Twists and Turns, a personal show that was based on his autobiography of the same name.

The show was incredibly popular with Perth audiences and returned for two more seasons. Now Mitcham is back, with sidekick Spanky in tow, for an all new show Under the Covers.

Mitcham told OUTinPerth that he hoped the new show would meet people’s expectations, saying that Perth audiences had always been very supportive of his work.

The inspiration for the new show came from a period of transition in Mitcham’s life when he began to work out what his life would be about after his retirement from competitive sport.

“It got it’s inspiration from my experiences over the last year I guess, transitioning from being an Olympian to my life after sport, I guess transition can be a fairly universal thing.”

Mitcham said he was ill-prepared for life after sport and found himself with lots of unexpected spare time.

“It’s about the challenge of transitioning and the choices that we make to handle that transition gracefully,” Mitcham said, “or in my case disgracefully – which makes a much better story.”

Moving into the entertainment realm has taught Mitcham to be less of a perfectionist and a control freak, admitting the best moments of the show are often improvised.

“I’ve learned to embrace a little bit of that unpredictability and that spontaneity, but I did struggle a bit with writing the show, just because I guess I struggle with that perfectionism. That perfection, it kind of paralyzes you.” Mitcham said.

Under the Covers is at the Perth Town Hall from February 13th. Tickets are available from Fringe World.

Listen to our whole phone conversation with Matthew Mitcham.