Comedian, actor and socio-historical interpreter Eddie Izzard has taken his surreal, surprising and laugh-out-loud-funny comedy act “Force Majeure” around the world. With his arrival at the Hawaii Theatre on Wednesday, he’ll meet his goal of bringing it to all 50 states.
EDDIE IZZARD
Where: Hawaii Theatre
When: 8 p.m. March 8
Cost: $52, $67
Info: 528-0506, hawaiitheatre.com
In “Force Majeure,” Izzard riffs on history and global phenomena in his own well-informed style. He may draw the audience’s attention by appearing in a suit, high heels and eyeshadow, and often sports impeccably painted nails. A recent appearance in Mumbai, India, touched on “Ancient Latin, King Charles II’s beheading, French masculine and feminine adverbs, the canteen on a Star Wars ship, and the pointlessness of the equestrian sport dressage,” the reviewer noted.
By sheer force of his wit and humor, it all comes together. He’s been lauded as “the most brilliant stand-up comedian of his generation” by the New York Times and “the funniest man in, well, pretty much all of the known universe” by the Los Angeles Times, and has sold out worldwide venues including Madison Square Garden.
His most recent film work is as the title character in the current Chinese-funded animation, “Rock Dog,” a debauched leader of the pack. You may know him from other film roles, including in “Valkyrie” with Tom Cruise, or “Ocean’s Thirteen” and “Ocean’s Twelve” with George Clooney and Brad Pitt. A 2010 documentary about him, “Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story,” received wide attention and an Emmy nomination.
Less well known is that Izzard is a serial marathon runner. Off stage, he’s known for his outspoken left-wing activism, and he has raised millions for charitable causes.
While touring through Asia, Izzard responded to some questions by email about his upcoming Hawaii performance:
Question: How are you holding up? Is your life as a traveling performer strenuous — or glorious? Can you tell us a little bit about it?
Answer: My life as a travelling performer is strenuous and glorious at the same time. At the moment, I’m doing my first Far East tour before I arrive in Hawaii, and I must say I am completely knackered but it is wonderful to be playing Asia, especially seeing as I was born in Asia.
Q: Do you incorporate your experiences into your performances?
A: I don’t know if I do. At least, I don’t think I do so immediately. My material concerns subjects that are spread over hundreds, sometimes thousands of years, and I like to juxtapose all that information into one big entire show. So the fact that I’m playing Asia and now going to play Hawaii, which will be the 50th state, having played all the other 49 states of America, is not a part of my main show. … But everything seeps through and affects, if not this show, future shows.
Q: Have you had any great epiphanies lately, in connection with your travels and appearances? Any great experiences to share?
A: I have not particularly had any great epiphanies in the last two weeks. The last epiphany I had was on a Thursday, and it was very good. I can’t actually remember what it was about. The one thing about epiphanies is, one, they’re difficult to spell, and, two, they come when you’re not expecting it. But I have recently decided, say, 20 minutes ago, in conversations with the others on this tour of Asia that we will never retire. There’s a small epiphany for you. I don’t want to get to the place where I’m sitting and wondering what to do. I do like doing things and having a mission which I think is most important for all humans beings. Without something driving us, a lot of us get a bit lost. I know I do and would.
Q: You take people about the world, in a sense, and through time, in your show. Do you have an idea of where you’d like them to be, what you’d like them to take away, once they’ve seen it?
A: I think most people who want to see my shows come with an open mind and an inquiring mind. I think the 7 billion of us in the world can split into two rough groups: Some of us are brave and curious, and some of us are fearful and suspicious. Mainly the brave and curious tend to come to my shows, I think.
All I try to do in a show is to first and foremost entertain people. After that, if they can take away some weird facts of history, some interesting observations, then that’s fantastic. But they need to laugh first and then be informed after that fact. I do think there are quite a lot of things in the show that are interesting. A recent review in London, although a very positive review, said everything I said was nonsense. It isn’t, actually — I do have Julius Caesar being advised by a chicken at the Battle of Alesia in Ancient Gaul. This was a real battle and the chicken advising (the chicken is playing the role of Mark Anthony) is accurate and the battle plan that is laid out actually happened. Probably most people don’t think that that is true but it is, and they can Wikipedia it, as I encourage them to do in the show.
Q: So, you’re in “Rock Dog”! Anything of your “Velvet Goldmine” experience here?
A: Probably some of my portrayal of Angus in “Rock Dog” was informed by acting in the film “Velvet Goldmine.” It was a great experience to do it, but we weren’t actually, of course, living a rock ‘n’ roll life. We were just portraying a rock ‘n’ roll life.
Q: How are you coping with the aftermath of the Brexit decision these days? Will it be part of your stage talk in Hawaii?
A: I don’t talk about party politics in my show. I prefer to leave party politics to actually being an activist. So even though Brexhate and Trumphate are now part of our world, there’s still at least half the English-speaking world marching forward with a positive attitude towards humanity. I don’t feel that hating the Muslims, hating the Jews, hating the immigrants is at all positive, useful or an emotionally intelligent thing to do. We tried this all in the 1930s, and it doesn’t work. But, as in the 1930s, this time will pass.
Q: Are you still planning to run for mayor of London in 2020?
A: I am still planning to run for member of Parliament in 2020. I was always wanting to run for mayor of London or member of Parliament, and now that Sadiq Khan is mayor of London I’m sure he’ll run for his second term, and his election will be in 2020.
Q: Any other projects you’re working on that we should know about? Film or television?
A: I have recently finished filming on the film “Victoria and Abdul.” It is a film being distributed worldwide by Universal, directed by Stephen Frears, and starring Judi Dench. She plays Queen Victoria, and I am playing her son Bertie, who became Edward VII. It will be coming out in September of 2017. I am very much looking forward to seeing it.