As she tours North America with a show that remixes and reimagines her most beloved bits, the irreverent stand-up and political activist sounds off on Darth Vader, the existence of God and finding progressives in the South“Did you know that hors d’oeuvre means ‘outside the work’? It’s in haute cuisine — ‘hors’ means ‘outside’ and oeuvre is ‘the work.’” Pause. “What am I talking about now?”
To speak with Eddie Izzard is a delight, but also a maze, filled with digressions, quirky asides, random comedic riffs and also literal notes to herself. (At one point, she stops mid-story to jot something down in her phone to remind herself to use the anecdote she’s telling me as part of a future stand-up routine.) We’re talking over Zoom as she prepares for that night’s show in Minneapolis, and I’ve just asked how her vast knowledge of history informs her comedy. She replies by impishly and faux-pretentiously referring to her “comedic oeuvre,” which then inspires a discussion about the origin of the word “hors d’oeuvre.” Over the hour that we spoke, I quickly deduced what my role would be: I didn’t just ask questions, I would also frequently help her regain her train of thought. She roamed and wandered, and I held on tight.
Well, they’re back, but different, and she’s still figuring out exactly how this reworked material is playing with the crowd. But she’s having a blast, and she’s very happy to talk about her comedy journey.
The truth is, she’s just happy to talk: Decked out in long, gorgeous lashes and red lipstick, she bounces around from topic to topic — from Brexit to Donald Trump to Monty Python to the Battle of Thermopylae to Darth Vader — without batting an eye. She launches into routines, does impressions, discusses the early days of Hollywood’s studio system and marvels at the differences between U.K. English and American English. Izzard came out as trans in 1985, announced an interest in seeking political office decades later, and in between she has pursued an acting career while also doing stand-up. (Not to mention, the massive amount of charity work and advocacy she champions.) She knows that some people don’t want to hear the opinions of performers — especially comedians — but she’s going to just keep giving them anyway. And she’s not about to abandon the essential tomfoolery of her onstage banter, where she ponders the mystery of bees and Noah’s ark and whatever else tickles her fancy. She makes smart comedy out of a childlike delight in foolishness. As she puts it, “It’s very silly, but it’s beautiful.”
You’ll often read Q&As in which the writer advises, “This interview has been edited for length and clarity.” That’s especially true of this conversation: I excised many of Izzard’s segues into world history and extended comedic ad-libs, focusing instead on her most salient points about stand-up and the state of the planet today. In general, Izzard is a positive person — or, perhaps more accurately, she’s trying to put something positive out there when there is so much that is negative. We covered many things, including her current feelings about John Cleese, why she’s interested in portraying Hamlet (and every other character in that play for her forthcoming one-woman show), and why she prefers telling stories instead of jokes on stage. Oh, and she has some thoughts about whether comedy can change the world.
