Eddie Izzard brings tour to Charlotte

Trans actor and comic Eddie Izzard will showcase her life through drama and comedy. Photo Credit: Amanda Searle

Eddie Izzard has experienced a fantastic life. On stage, she’s done comedy and classical theater. Izzard has provided her voice for animation and acted in movies like “Across The Universe” and television shows such as Netflix’s “Kaos,” She’s also been a dedicated activist for the Labour Party in London, where she has been a cultural figure for decades.

Starting in 1987 at London’s Comedy Store, and now celebrating 35 years with the Remix Tour, Izzard will recount her favorite bits and anecdotes from that span of time and get set for what the future holds.

We had an opportunity to speak with Izzard ahead of her October 19 show in Charlotte at Knight Theatre.

Jonathan Golian: Good Morning! How are you doing?
Eddie Izzard: I’m fine, thank you. Where are you in the states?

JG: We’re based in North Carolina.
EI: Ah! I know North Carolina. I was in Raleigh, and my makeup artist says, well, that’s quite a breakfast in a local eatery. And so, we were in this this diner to have breakfast, a classic old breakfast, and one of the waiting staff came and said to me, are you that comedian? I said yes. They said, “my boss uses a line of yours. It says, ‘Why these? Where did you drive them, in a rain forest?” Which was from Death Star Canteen, one of my sketches. I just thought, wow, that’s amazing that it starts somewhere and gets all the way to North Carolina. So, it was quite a journey, this crazy little Death Star Canteen sketch. But that is something that will be appearing in my upcoming show.

JG: Very cool! Well, I’ve been a fan for most of my life, starting with any time your specials appeared on Comedy Central in the States. Do you have any favorites moments from your career, the ’90s and on?
EI: Well, in a way, it’s very difficult to compare. I spent so long trying to get to America, and when New York finally said “we like you,” we went. And then we played San Francisco and Los Angeles, and I kept pushing. Then, there’s the HBO special that won a couple of Emmys. I was just hungry to play everywhere. I’ve played all 50 states now [in] America, and so each tour has had a different thing.
I used to think like Southern states, you know, I can’t play the southern states. And then people, particularly from Texas, were coming up to the northern states when I was playing, and said, “why are you not coming down to play Texas?” I said, “okay, we’ll come.” And we went to Dallas, the Majestic Theater in Dallas, and, and the guy running it said, “you really want to come here?” And I said, “yeah, I think we should. And then the first gigs all sold out really quickly. So, I say, “do I do another one?” So I like the idea that there’s groovy people everywhere that grab hold of things. But, you know, coming to play America is the big thing, because America’s got such a large population, I suppose, because the entertainment industry of America is so large and such a big engine, with Hollywood sitting at the top of it, and rock and roll and everything. It’s such a dream of a lot of people in Britain, in Europe, to play there, from around the world, to get it to work in America. I’m very pleased that I pushed hard and I got out to play. I loved the early days when I was playing the smaller theaters, and I’ve loved it when it’s built up; the Hollywood Bowl, Madison Square Garden, I’ve loved them all. I mean, I got tired, but nothing’s ever been a downside, even when playing in Meridian, Mississippi. And you wouldn’t think that my stuff [would] go well in Mississippi, but we had a great audience there, and we stayed at the Holiday Inn where the people were really nice to us. So, yeah, I’ve been pushing since 1996, which was when I first got to America, so it’s been a long time now. And I do love doing it.

JG: Oh, I really love all of that. So, from the small clubs to the wide amphitheaters, which is your favorite type of venue to perform in?
EI: Oh, both! I like the speed boats and I like the ocean liners. That’s how I see it. You know, if you’re in a speed boat, that’s a small gig, you’ve got to be a lot quicker. [But], if you’re playing Madison Square Garden or Hollywood Bowl, those kinds of big, majestic places, you have to let the joke go out, and the laughter happen, and the joke happens at a slower speed. And they do delays in the mic. That’s where I think comedy, or spoken word, is different from music. Whenever I change, there’s a little trick. If you’ve been playing the small ones, and suddenly you go to the big ones, you will probably be out of kilter and going, well, I’m [saying] too much and going too fast. And again, the other way around, you go to the big ones down to the small ones, you find you’re just too majestic or too slow, and you need to speed up and get quicker off the bat. It’s a nice dynamic to be able to switch up and change. So, I do actually like playing both.

JG: So, you are multifaceted. Not only do you have comedy, you’re also a voice actor. The last thing I did see of yours was “Green Eggs & Ham” [Netflix]. I thought you did, a very, very good comedic villain.
EI: Very good. I do love doing spoken word, because that’s how my comedy can come out. It’s a good place to play different voices. And you know Robin Williams did when he played “Aladdin.” These are great opportunities where you can play around with voice work and hit some really funny stuff. I want to do my own series, in fact. Oh yeah. So to be able to do Hamlet, and then go out to do some real comedy as well. That’s quite a nice thing to have in here, in your kit bag.

JG: You’re going to be starting out the tour performing Hamlet. What are some of your favorite roles that you’ve taken on in live theater?
EI: Well, I got a Tony nomination for my turn at “A Day In The Death of Joe Egg.” So that was great doing that. Then I started doing these solo versions of shows, including Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations” and then “Hamlet” has just been a recent one in New York. We triple extended New York, and then moved to the Orpheum Theater. Then the Chicago Shakespeare Theater said, come up with one of us to play in Chicago. And that was great. We got four out of four stars from the Chicago Tribune, and then played in London. I get to take it all around the world next year. I think Hamlet playing all the characters is a weird thing, but that’s what I’m doing, because they wouldn’t give me Hamlet. I’m not the kind of person to say “they need to build a hammer around this person,” so I just built it around myself and, you know, being a trans person and playing Ophelia, and Gertrude as well, trying to give honor to the female characters as well as the male characters, that’s something that’s been very important to me, and they’ve had positive reviews for my Ophelia, which I was very happy with. And I just love playing Hamlet. It’s quite a tough two-hour thing, and you are on stage all the time playing against yourself. The public has such a great reaction to it, so we’re just going to take it on and on.

JG: At the end of 2024 and beyond, what do you have coming up after the Remix tour?
EI: Hamlet across the world at 25 so spring “Hamlet” is going to be all around America. The autumn is going to be around Europe. I’m going to go to Australia, New Zealand with it. So, I’m just going to relentlessly tour my Hamlet. And I mean the series “Chaos,” which is on Netflix. I have a supporting role in that, but I love doing that. I’m just going to keep doing drama and surreal comedy, but mainly I’m emphasizing “Hamlet” next year. So, it’s comedy this year, right now, for two months in America, and then into drama next year.

Eddie Izzard’s “The Remix: The First 35 Years” tour comes to the Knight Theater on October 19. Tickets are now available online.