On the Scene: Izzard Over Dinner

Non-fiction Words by Dara Wilson

When you get word that Eddie Izzard is making his way to a city near you, and you are as huge a fan as I, it's completely natural to  (scream in the middle of your work cafeteria and booty clap like the girl in this parody ) make sure that you will be present for the show. Using the powerful combination of my bright-eyed crispy-crest smile, promise of upcoming favors, and a full recital of “Cake or Death,” I was able to score a few coveted seats at the Shoreline Ampitheatre , where Eddie (we’re best friends now … in my mind) would be playing.

Since it’s basically located on my employer’s campus, heading to the Shoreline on a weekend feels a bit like skipping off to your dental surgeon’s office not for a root canal, but to check out their new “ocean scenes” artwork. It was well worth it though. I revere Eddie Izzard; not just as hilarious man, fantastic actor and compelling comic, but as an incredible thinker. Therefore, I put a great deal of pressure on the performance. Happily, the act lived up to the hype I’d created in my mind. New jokes split my sides. Older jokes floated from the stage to my ears, settling around me like a familiar quilt. I was in a state of simultaneous comfort and excitement; far too elated to be concerned with the rapidly cooling air whipping around the outdoor theater.

Weeks later, Mr. Izzard returned to the area, and I had the great fortune of being invited to an early dinner with him and a few other coworkers. It was any fan’s dream- to be in the presence of a man you’ve long been in awe of, and an amazing pumpkin chicken curry at the same time. Nothing beats it.

Watching him at dinner was a choice opportunity to see an artist’s mind work- We started the evening with Eddie giving us a breakdown and treatise on the movie Sucker Punch (the short of it: It’s how he’s always imagined himself flying through life as an “Action Transvestite,” but there’s a conceit in the plot that causes the second half of the filmto fall apart). We continued on talking about politics and religion- topics he’s well versed in, and those which he can speak about with as much humor off-stage as on.

Briefly, a coworker tried to explain a potential joke Eddie might tell, pertaining to a monkey in a tree. Like you, he didn’t get it. I did though. He obviously hadn’t watched the Learning French portion of “Dress to Kill” a bazillion times like we had. He hadn’t memorized his every move like we had. It was at that moment I realized he was the best kind of star- the one who isn’t as much a fan of himself as you are of him.

-- Dara M Wilson

Comments

[S]

Great article! I will have to check the E man out.