Gig Review: Eddie Izzard - Wunderbar - Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington, 26 February 2019

It didn’t really matter that I’d already seen Eddie Izzard live on stage twice before. It didn’t even matter that this was a pesky midweek affair. And it certainly didn’t matter that I’d heard some of the same material before, give or take a variation or two. I had high expectations, and Eddie Izzard’s 'Wunderbar' performance at Wellington’s packed Michael Fowler Centre on Tuesday night was everything I anticipated it would be.

Izzard doesn’t really do jokes. He’s from the stream-of-consciousness-rambling school of stand-up comedy. Where the timing and delivery is way more important than the subject matter itself. A comedian who specialises in the art of taking the audience off on wild tangents before eventually returning full circle to deliver a punchline. And for the most part, that works just fine. 

The only danger is that a lot of his material is so absurd, and delivered at such a frenetic pace, you need to be sufficiently on form and sharp yourself to ensure the really good stuff doesn’t get lost in the wash. And while his multilingualism is a definite asset and a major plus at times, his frequent transitioning between English, French, and German, was, on this occasion, perhaps a little too random, and I found myself struggling to keep up. 

We got all of the regular Izzard touchstones: an hilarious reframing of history, religion and god, ice cream, dogs, superheroes, and naturally, politics - with references to Brexit, Trump, and parallels drawn between the rise of 1930s-style fascism and today’s current political climate. All a rich source of mirth and humour. Sort of … the last part, not so much. 

He talked a little bit about his life as a child, about being gender fluid, about the recent loss of his father, about his ongoing political ambitions, and about his incredible marathon-running feats: “it’s ninety percent mental and the other ten percent is in your head” …

Admittedly, I failed to fully grasp his post-encore closing salvo, his “theory of the universe”, but that hardly mattered. It was me, Eddie, not you. 

It was a fun night, and if Izzard ever does fulfil those political goals, I’m quite sure he’s going to need every last bit of that manic sense of humour just to survive. Just as I’m sure he’ll be a great success, and the rare breath of fresh air that UK politics - indeed, global politics - needs right now. 

Gig Review: Eddie Izzard - Force Majeure - at Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington, 15 February 2015

A “Force Majeure” is often used as a get-out clause in building or construction contracts. It’s considered something like an “act of God”, or something representative of an irresistible or “superior” force. I’m not really sure what it means in layman’s terms but it nonetheless seems like an appropriate handle for a self-proclaimed “action transvestite” to travel the world with. It all makes perfect sense, darling.

It was the Force Majeure tour that brought heel-wearing English comedian Eddie Izzard to Wellington for the fourth time last weekend. I was lucky enough to have caught his act on one other occasion, at the State Opera House, way back in 2003. His other visits to the capital came in 2000, as part of the Laugh! Festival, and more recently in 2011, when his Stripped tour brought him to the St James Theatre. I was at the MFC last Sunday night, alongside a near full house, which followed a sold out Saturday night show at the same venue.

 

I worried pre-gig that I'd watched too much Eddie Izzard concert footage over the years and I'd be a little too familiar with some of his material. That turned out to be an unfounded fear - there was a crossover of some themes, and one or two specific topics (cake, ice cream), but this was mostly all new material.

Knowing what to expect from Izzard may actually be an advantage - any newbie might be inclined to wonder if he'll ever get to the point or reveal the punchline, but Izzard's clever and seemingly random stream of consciousness rambling frequently offers up some of his best work. Sunday night was no exception.

Historical figures - ranging from the diverse old-timer likes of Genghis Khan and Charles 1 to relatively contemporary figures like Hitler and Maggie Thatcher - provided Izzard with plenty of quality material, each crossing over (to one extent or another) into the twin themes of politics and religion. And when it comes to comedy, subject matter seldom comes much richer than that.

There were elements of physical comedy in Izzard's act but mostly it was all about intelligent observational humour. There were short segments in French and German, reminders that Izzard is multilingual, and that he’s performed entire shows in those languages in the past.

I wasn’t surprised to hear Izzard confirm his intention to enter politics, with the race for the 2020 London mayoralty likely to present him with his initial fresh challenge in that sphere. He’s achieved just about everything there is to achieve as a performance artist, not only as a stand-up, but also through a wide range of television and film roles. His energy and thirst to “make a difference” (man) apparently knows no bounds.

Anybody who - as a complete novice - can run 43 marathons in 51 days (as Izzard did a few years back) to raise money for Comic Relief, demonstrates a level of determination most of us can only dream about. You might even conclude he’s driven by some kind of superior force …

So it was a pretty sweet couple of hours in Izzard’s company on Sunday night, even with the odd fluffed line and one or two relatively flat moments, knowing that at some point in the near future he’ll just as likely be lost to the stage forever.