From the Advertiser
22 jul03 | Advertiser.co.au

Eddie Izzard

23jul03

Sexie
Thebarton Theatre
Saturday

EDDIE Izzard has breasts. "I should explain," he said, looking down, touching his left breast, a wry smile on his face. "But I'm not gonna."

It was only minutes into his Adelaide show and the "action transvestite" had set the scene for what was to come. Not once during the show did it seem unusual that here was a man, in make-up, stilettos – and breasts – telling us he wants to do shows in Arabic to pay respect to his birth country (Yemen).

But there was more to come. He did try to explain, in part, how he came to be an action transvestite. Childhood anecdotes – complete with necessary tangents – and recent experiences simply served to show why this man is so loved around the world. Have you ever wondered how Medusa's hairdresser felt when confronted with snakes? Izzard did, to hilarious effect – even if he was upset that he couldn't see Charlie's Angels after his show because Adelaide has no late cinema sessions (just a high body count).

This was a true comic genius at work. There was (seemingly) no plan. Just a man relaying anecdotes to a few hundred friends. Many a comic today could do worse than look to Eddie Izzard for pointers.

– Lauren McMenemy


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