They say not to meet your idols.
Realistically, the chances of that ever actually happening tend to be slim. But the opportunity to not only meet, but feature alongside your childhood heroes is something rarer still. David Tennant managed the feat by piloting the TARDIS. Harry Potter-fanatic Evanna Lynch was cast as Luna Lovegood. And Eddie Izzard – one of the most outstanding and idiosyncratic performers at large in the world – was invited to perform on stage with comedy's messianic Holy Grail, Monty Python. “It was unbelievable,” Izzard says.
Those familiar with his stand-up material are well-acquainted with the rapid monologues that characterise his sets; the bemused commentary on his own material, the characters that wander in and out like strangers lost in a hotel lobby. “I went to seven out of ten gigs, it was like bathing in Python. And to go on stage with them was such a wonderful thing.
“It was quite tricky in its way, though. I was in the blackmail sketch, where Mike Palin is hosting. They bring us on with a bag over your head, and Palin says: 'You've been blackmailed!' But it wasn't perfectly thought out, you see. You had to come up with some reason why somebody would be blackmailing you on the spot. But I'd already watched it seven times so I'd had time to figure out my response, so I said: 'People have been accusing me of wearing men's underwear, and it isn't true!' That seemed to work. And then, as Eric Idle was pulling me away, I said 'Wait, wait, I've got another joke!'. 'What?' said Eric, 'you want to say something else?'. 'Yes,' I said, 'I never wanted to be a transvestite. I always wanted to be … a lumberjack!' It was wonderful, it was very odd, and may well never happen again.”
It's quite removed from the 17-year-old refining his comedy in order to impress girls during A-Level chemistry. Izzard has now been touring the world since 1996, after his friend Robin Williams encouraged Izzard to take his show, ‘Definite Article’, to the US. Nineteen years later, ‘Force Majeure’ is set to arrive in Australia in late January. “What I have found is that there is no national sense of humour. No Australian sense of humour, no British or American sense of humour, no German sense of humour – well, of course there's no German sense of humour,” he concedes.
“But there is a mainstream sense of humour in every country. So you'll see in Australia the mainstream comedy is making jokes about sports stars and politicians, transport systems, differences between Melbourne and Sydney, stuff like that.
“It's the same in Germany, their sports stars, German politicians, blah blah blah. And then there's a more alternative sense of humour, which is more Python, more the Goons, more like what I do, and that exists all around the world and seems to link up better. The laughs I get when I perform in Russian in Moscow, in German in Berlin, French in Paris, English in Sydney — they all laugh at the same points.”
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Though decades have now passed since first venturing into stand-up, that everyday surreality remains a constant in Izzard's sensibilities. The complexities of his act may have grown — more layered, as he describes it, far from one of his earliest jokes: “I went fly-fishing the other day. I caught three flies.” — but the absurd is never far from the surface. “People used to say, 'Oh, your comedy is very gentle’. And I thought, 'Gentle? God, that doesn't sound very good.'
“So in ‘Force Majeure’ I start with human sacrifice, that seems to avoid the gentle. Whoever thought that killing someone and offering them to a God was a good idea? Whoever thought that's something a God would like? The Gods created everything on earth, apparently, and if you believe in them, why in the hell would you start killing people? Why be like, 'Oh yeah, we're going to kill Jim, because God would love that.’ What? That's insane!
“I think that's where the first fascist guy stepped up. People were wondering: 'Who should we kill?' and one guy was like, 'Let's kill Jim. I get to choose, because I've got a big hat on.' I think that was the first twisting of religion into fascism. That may not be true,” he laughs. “But I think it might also be right on the money.”
Eddie Izzard Tour Dates
Wed 28 Jan - Sydney Opera HouseSat 31 Jan - AEC Theatre (Adelaide)
Mon 2 Feb - Brisbane Convention Centre
Wed 4 Feb - Riverside Theatre (Perth)
Thu 5 Feb - Riverside Theatre (Perth)
Sat 7 Feb - Llewellyn Hall (Canberra)
Mon 9 Feb - Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne
Tue 10 Feb - Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne
