Eddie Izzard: As Random As Ever

…but not as funny?

While there are some very funny moments in Eddie Izzard’s ‘Stripped‘ show I came away from The O2 with the feeling that this show isn’t as good as some of his previous ones. But, as the gf pointed out, this may have something to do with the venue, and not necessarily Eddie as a performer. More of that later!

He bounded onto the stage with the enthusiasm of a small child in a sweet shop, and after a bit of adlibbing, launched into the show proper, which is a cross between a history lesson and a lecture on atheism all delivered in Izzard’s own inimitable style of random references, bizarre impressions and general silliness.

There are some outstanding moments, (without spoiling it too much) the raptor, the giraffe, being sick and the etch-a-sketch ending being the funniest but overall the show didn’t hit the heights of Glorious or Dress To Kill, which I believe to be his best shows. Maybe he’s become a victim of his own success, maybe he had a bit of an off-night. Whatever it was, the two of us left the show a little disappointed.

Now back to the location of the show. The O2 Arena is, as you are probably aware, absolutely massive and maybe a good venue for concerts but it is not suited to comedy gigs. In fact, no large venue, such as Wembley Arena, or the MEN Arena in Manchester is. Although we were sat up in the gods we weren’t the furthest people from the stage, and although you have a good view wherever you sit in The O2, the size of Eddie on the stage makes it virtually impossible to watch the whole show looking at him.

Which is where the 3 large screens come into play. Situated either side of the stage and behind Eddie in the center, they do well enough to give you a close-up view but the problem with this though is that you end up spending 90% of the time watching these and not the stage. Now I’m not exactly a tightwad, but spending £90 on a couple of tickets and parking to end up watching what is, to all intents and purposes, a DVD of the show, is somewhat extreme!

So I would like it noted that from now on I shall no longer be attending any comedy gigs at large venues. Theaters are fine. The Comedy Store even better. The smaller the location, the more intimate the gig, the better it is.