#james mchale

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Harper (1966), dir. Jack Smight

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NEWSREADER JAMES MCHALE GOES OFF-SCRIPT TO HOST FRINGE FESTIVAL CHAT SHOW

(James McHale on the set of his Fringe World festival chat show ‘Real Talk with James McHale’ - Photo: ABC News)

James McHale is the trusted face of the ABC’s Early Edition national news and the 7pm news in WA, but in a departure from his ‘serious’ day job he’s hosted a Perth fringe festival chat show, ‘Real Talk with James McHale’. 

By James McHale 

I’ve been involved in Perth’s Fringe World festival in various capacities for a few years, and I’ve always wanted to put on a show. I had figured that being unable to act, sing or dance would prevent this from ever happening. Then, I had a dream. I literally had a dream in which I was hosting a live late night chat show and the Hon. Stephen Smith was a guest. I woke up, reflected on it, and decided it wasn’t a bad concept. 

(James McHale in bow tie and fancy hat with his chat show audience and guests, including musician Abbe May, Stephen Smith and Gordon Flake, CEO of the USAsia Centre - Photo: ABC News) 

‘Real Talk with James McHale’ started out as a late night (10pm) chat show with guests and morphed into a month-long, high-stress exercise in self-growth. I wanted to test myself to see if I could pull it off, to give people an insight into who I am and what I find amusing, and to see if I could go totally off-script, connect with the guests, let the conversation just flow and follow my curiosity in a way that a live audience would enjoy. 

(James McHale in a more familiar setting behind the newsdesk - Photo: ABC News)

I’ve had an incredible range of guests, even within shows: a former UFC fighter on with a cyber security expert, a retired District Court Judge on with Richard Burton’s nephew, a pop-up degustation chef on with Australia’s land speed record holder, and WA’s Chief Scientist on with a Canadian mentalist and magician. 

(James McHale with guest Gretel Killeen - Photo: ABC News)

The highest profile guest was probably Gretel Killeen, and the crowd favorites were Behaviour Change and Leadership Expert Suzanne Waldron and Science Communicator Renae Sayers. My ‘white whale’ for the season was WA artist Stormie Mills: he very rarely appears in public, so it was a real treat. 

A lot of people ask what ‘Real Talk’ means. I’ve poached it from its original usage of affirming an accurate statement (eg: Youth 1: “James McHale has amazing hair!”, Youth 2: “Real talk, player. Real Talk”: a typical conversation between two Australian ‘youths’).

(Gretel Killeen - centre - and James McHale in the fringe festival show - Photo: ABC News)

As far as I am concerned, it’s about having an honest, open discussion: whether that’s to figure something out, learn, or just for the sake of it. It’s also more about listening than talking. 

I’m pretty open and honest in the show, and it’s actually a really cathartic experience to stand up there and honestly say how grateful and humbled I am that people would not only come out to see this ridiculous venture, but pay for it. Also, to openly admit how terrifying it has been: if you want to test the limits of your emotional spectrum, put on a show with your name in the title.

More stories from WA here.

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