It’s show time

Elliot Wilshier had a fairly normal childhood, growing up in the outer reaches of Sydney with a large family.

But what made him was his musical talent and from the age of 10 he knew he would be writing music for the rest of his life.

It was a rock-solid belief that developed very early and has steered most of the decisions I’ve made in life, Wilshier told Sydney Star Observer.

He recalls his early love of orchestral films, and mentions sitting in a room, kissing Harrison Ford on the album cover of Raiders Of The Lost Ark.

As a teenager, the long processes of identifying as a composer, songwriter and as gay were deeply intertwined and happened simultaneously, he said.

Wilshier was accepted into the NSW Conservatorium of Music before breaking into the musical theatre scene.

Theatre was really where my first break came, and where I began to connect to the whole idea of a gay community. I got a job as the pianist on ABC’s Play School in the early 1990s and from there I worked on all sorts of theatrical and cabaret shows, Wilshier said.

In 1999, he became the musical director of the Mardi Gras variety shows The Stars Come Out. He has accompanied many fine performers in his lifetime but it wasn’t until last year that he decided to stand in the spotlight.

I finally decided that the time had come to step out from behind other performers, and simply sing the songs I’d been quietly writing in the background all these years, and the reception so far has been overwhelming.

His new show will be an hour of bittersweet, gay-tinged original songs about both hope and disappointment, listening to the voices in our heads and risking everything for love.

Elliot Wilshier will perform live at Bar Me, 154 Broughton St, Kings Cross, on Friday 6 and Sunday 8 April. Book at www.barme.com.au or on 9368 0894.