Outback Truckers stars Steve Grahame, Yogi and Sludge will appear together on stage for the first time next year, with the world premiere of Outback Truckers Live to be held in Western Australia.
The live show will open at Perth Convention Centre on April 3 before moving to Mandurah Performing Arts Centre on April 4.
The trio are familiar faces from the documentary series, which follows truck drivers transporting freight across Australia. The programme is now filming its 13th season and has developed a substantial following in the UK, Germany and Poland.
Although all three men have spent decades on the road, they said becoming television personalities was never part of their plans. They believe the show’s appeal comes from their work and their willingness to remain themselves on camera.
“We’ve had really good people from the start that said, ‘if you act like a tool, you’ll be a tool on TV’. We were taught to just be yourself,” Yogi said.
Grahame said the programme’s international reach became clear during a visit to Vienna, when his accountant switched on the television in their hotel room and saw him on screen.
“He said, ‘I couldn’t believe it, Steve, there was your dreadful Australian nasal twang coming out of the TV in an upmarket hotel in Vienna’,” Grahame said.
He added: “I reckon we do more to attract tourists to this bloody country than what ‘put another shrimp on the barbie’ does, or that TV ad, ‘where the bloody hell are you’.”
Sludge, who has been trucking for about 50 years, said the freedom of the road and spending time in remote areas remained central to his life.
“I like being out in the out in the bush where, at night there’s no lights. It’s just the freedom out there, is what I love about it, and the freedom of the road,” he said.
