He may be best known for his work on TV and radio (at different times hosting both the number one breakfast and drive shows in Sydney) but comedian Tim Ross has also always had a passion for architecture and design.
Over the last six years, he has performed his live Man About the House show in architecturally-significant buildings and homes all over the world. Turning each venue into a temporary theatre, Tim and musical partner Kit Warhurst perform sold-out shows in buildings designed by a who’s who of Australian architecture, including Harry Seidler, Robin Boyd, Glenn Murcutt, John Wardle, Clare Cousins and Roy Grounds.
They’ve also taken the show on successful overseas tours that have included seasons in the United States and New Zealand, the Venice Biennale and the London Festival of Architecture (where it was included among the ‘Must See’ events by the New York Times). In 2018 they presented Man About the Sydney Opera House with special guest Kevin McCloud, the host of Grand Designs.
Tim also passionately supports important issues in Australian architecture and design, in particular the ‘Save Our Sirius’ campaign, fighting alongside the local community to protect Sydney’s now neglected modernist apartment building, Sirius. In 2018 Tim was awarded the National Trust Heritage Award for Advocacy, which recognised his activism in drawing attention to Australia’s legacy of modernist architecture and promoting its conservation. In 2019 Tim was awarded the National President’s Prize from the Australian Institute of Architects, to “recognise him for his advocacy, activism and outstanding contribution to the architecture profession”.
Tim’s interest in architecture has led to speaking engagements at The ’50s and ’60s House Symposium (Museum of Sydney), Home Series talks (Government House), Sydney Design Week, the London Design Museum, Culture of Lates Symposium in London, the Heritage Address in Melbourne and the prestigious Griffin Lecture at the National Press Club in Canberra.
He has written on architecture for various publications including Real Living, Habitus, The Saturday Paper, The Smith Journaland The Guardian. In 2017, Tim launched his second book, The Rumpus Room, capturing nostalgic short stories about life in Australia’s suburbs in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. The Rumpus Room is now in its third print run.
Tim’s two-part series on Australian architecture, Streets of Your Town, premiered on ABC TV in November 2016 to rave reviews, and quickly became the most watched arts program on the ABC for the year.
In 2018, Tim partnered with the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney to curate his first exhibition, Design Nation. Bringing together design objects from the mid-1960s to late 1980s, and casting a spotlight on Australia’s rich manufacturing history, the exhibition looked at a golden age of innovation in Australia. This led to a nationally touring talk in which Tim used his trademark wit to ask us to rediscover these ubiquitous, everyday objects of Australian design through previously untold stories, personal anecdotes and design narratives, revealing how our unique design histories have helped shape our national identity.
MOTEL is the latest live show by Tim Ross and Kit Warhurst. A nostalgic, thought provoking and funny exploration of Australian holidays of the past, the show uses storytelling and song to take the audience on a sentimental motel journey. Premiering in Sydney in March 2019, the show will tour nationally over the coming year. Motel. Images of Australia on holidays is his new book inspired by the live show.
Get in touch…
Email book (at) timross.com.au or Shelley (at) timross.com.au
PO Box 210, Hunters Hill, NSW, 2110, Australia