What: Eddie Izzard
Where: Royal Theatre
When: Friday night
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)
After a three-year absence, British comic Eddie Izzard is back in Victoria. He now appears primed for global domination, what with a continent-hopping tour called Force Majeure touted as the “most extensive comedy tour ever”.
Izzard, 51, is a man who likes to deal in extremes. An occasional cross-dresser, he once ran more marathons in two months (43 of them) than the average super-jocks will run in a lifetime.
He has even declared his intention to run for mayor of London. And he’s not kidding.
Izzard, the self-described “action transvestite,” walked on stage in clean-shaven boy mode: natty in a dark suit and white shirt with a red pocket square, Cuban heels … and red nail polish.
So what makes Eddie run? Here’s a sampling of the snippets on offer Friday night at the Royal Theatre (Izzard performs a second show tonight at the Royal).
• On Victoria: You’re “named after a very small queen” who came “on sea plane.” “Sometimes she took those drugs, opium ... you’ve heard all the stuff”
• On Rob Ford: “Rob Ford said at least I’m not in Victoria where they’re f---ing crazy, snorting crack off virgins’ thighs.” Added Eddie: “He’s off his trolley. He says he was slightly inebriated… on crack!”
• On human sacrifice: “Stephen, just pop your head on that tree stump, will you.” Also, a bit on the beheading of Charles the First in 1649. “He was a dick-head king.”
• On the Queen’s face appearing on Canadian currency: “If I was the Queen, I’d say use the photo of me from ’52. … Because she’s run out of smiles.”
• On languages: Eddie is about to tour again in France. He says he uses only one English word, “f---k,” as seasoning. “The French really dig it.”
• On dining in hell: “Can I get a table by the fire? I’m afraid they’re all by the fire.”
• On the Romans: “I used to like the Romans. I thought they got stuff done. But they really just said: ‘Join us or die.’ ”
• On gods: First, Eddie did an infomercial in an American accent, about the convenience “one easy god” named Chris.
He then offered one way to avoid being sacrificed as a virgin — lose your virginity immediately. “Stop that, stop that. Shouldn’t have made them stand in a circle, I suppose.”
Later, Eddie did his God/Darth Vader cafeteria routine, to the audience’s delight.
His humour is fragmented — partly scripted, perhaps mostly scripted, yet seemingly improvised. Last night’s show was like something you’d have to experience live, a bebop jazz solo. It wasn’t so much laughs or big, set-up jokes. It was all about the process, the journey of quick-silver thought.
Izzard’s greatest strengths emanate from free-associating wizardry — at best, he rockets from idea to idea like a pinwheel firework, ideas shooting out with frenetic brilliance. Add to this a love of absurdism, and you get a sort of funhouse-mirror court jester who makes us think and question our middle-class convictions.
