Ben Goss to star in ‘Tim’, based on the novel by Colleen McCullough

Instead of holding him back, Ben Goss’ cerebral palsy has helped him join a rich community of disabled artists. And he is ready for the performance of his life in ‘Tim’.

Actor Ben Goss, who will star in the production of TIM, at the Seymour Centre in Chippendale. Picture: Adam Yip

Actor Ben Goss is proud of his disability, and says there’s no greater feeling than standing on stage doing what he loves – because as a little boy growing up, a career in lights felt out of reach.

Born in Tasmania with mild cerebral palsy, he credits a rich local community musical theatre scene for his passion of the arts.

“I have a quite mild version of cerebral palsy and I’m very proud to identify as disabled – there are lots of very talented and fabulous disabled artists that I really look up to and it’s a great community to be part of,” he tells Insider this week, in a break during rehearsals for a new adaptation of Colleen McCullough’s famed book, TIM.

“Certainly as a little boy, I never would have thought I would have ended up as a professional on stage, so it is a bit of a ‘pinch me’ moment.”

It took acclaimed playwright Tim McGarry – who also adapted Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe for the stage – six years to acquire the rights for the production, which tells the story of a love affair between an intellectually disabled young man and an older woman.

Actor Ben Goss is “very proud to identify as disabled”. Picture: Adam Yip

McGarry and director Darren Yap made the decision that it was critical to cast an actor with a disability – and Goss, who had just graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts, was discovered.

“There is a big element of pride in standing up and using those parts of myself that maybe when I was a kid, or when I was in training, I thought maybe it was better to not be open about or not talk about,” Goss says.

Ben Goss will star in the production of TIM. Playwright Tim McGarry and director Darren Yap made the decision that it was critical to cast an actor with a disability. Picture: Adam Yip

“It is wonderful to be in a professional space where I can just be really open with that stuff, and use it in a wonderful way.

“It does feel special and I really hope that to the future – and I think this is slowly happening – I’m really hopeful that there’s going to be more stories about people with disability.

“There’s so much collectively we all have to learn about each other in that way, and I think plays and TV and movies, are great mediums for us to learn about the different ways people live.”

Colleen McCullough remains one of Australia’s highest-selling authors with over 80 million books sold worldwide, 30 million of which are for TIM, which she wrote in 1974. First entitled Not the Full Quid, this beautiful work has spawned two movies, the first starring a very young Mel Gibson. While Tim’s disability is never labelled in the play, it is a constant, underlying theme, embedded in a story that, as Goss confirms, explores the importance of embracing differences.

Mel Gibson and Piper Laurie in the 1981 movie version of Tim.

“It has been a real labour of love for the producers, who have been working on it for four or five years, so there has been a lot of time and energy put into this already,” he says.

“So it is really exciting to finally get into a room and be doing it.

“While it’s a labour of love, this show is all about love, and I think one of the reasons everyone’s so generous with their energy for this project is because they just love the story.

“They really enjoy the romance, the beautiful themes of different people coming together as lovers.

“I was really excited about it because, as someone with a disability, there’s not a lot of projects involving people with disability, even though it’s a pretty significant part of the population.

“So whenever I do encounter one of the stories, I have a quick connection to that.”

TIM plays at the Glen Street Theatre, Belrose, from July 28-30 before moving on to Wyong, Newcastle, Nowra, Penrith, Wollongong, Queanbeyan and Parramatta