VARIETY | March 27-April 2, 2000
CIRCLE
When Eddie Izzards
Dressed to Kill played Gothams Westbeth Arts Center in 1998, legions of
besuited Wall Street Brits showed up to gawk at a sweet but safe transvestite carrying on
the noble traveling tradition of Anglo showbiz curiosities. But thanks in part to HBO
exposure, Izzards Stateside reputation has now exploded with such rapidity that he
may now leave the mascara and dresses at home and still attract big crowds for his
beguiling mix of standup social satire and liberal political commentary.
Under the auspices of Arnold Engelman and the Westbeth, the short road tour of
Izzards Circle has being doing capacity biz in hip, medium-sized venues.
Even though local presenters Jam Theatricals spent little on paid promo, the two-week Chi
run at the Royal George sold out.
This funny 37-year-old has certainly handled his career well in the last couple of
years. Although his show is pretty much straight standup, hes shrewdly avoided the
comedy-club circuit in favor of legit-style venues where people are more likely to shut up
and listen. For various economic and other reasons, the current times are not easy for
alternative comedy (especially on this side of the Atlantic), but Izzard has carved out a
very workable niche. His name will only get bigger.
Although the producers saw no reason to spend money on production values when
Izzard is boffo solo, they did manage a few flashing lights and some techno dance music,
ensuring a hip environment. His material is aimed at a younger demographic, but it is
intelligent and political. His ramblings on the evils of Margaret Thatcher may seem dated,
but who else is doing political commentary these days in this kind of venue? He also has
an off-kilter but progressive worldview that means his gags flow mainly at the expense of
narrow-mindedness, pomposity and other liberal targets.
Much of Circle draws on the stranger-in-a-strange-land motif that has
well served generations of Brit comics over here. But even if weve heard the stuff
before, Izzard has a great gift for spontaneous delivery and conveying the sense that his
monologue is mainly improvised.