Monday, February 23, 1998

Brit comic not exactly Mr. Dressup

By JIM SLOTEK -- Toronto Sun

Across the pond, surrealist comic Eddie Izzard is widely known and widely considered to be the U.K.'s best standup. Given the difficulty British comics have had making the jump, it's not surprising he's relatively unknown here.

The problem, he says, isn't that the comedy doesn't translate. "It's just linking up with human beings," says Izzard, who brings his ironically named show Dress To Kill to Harbourfront's Premiere Dance Threatre tomorrow through Saturday. Thus far, it's gone well. Dressed To Kill is an on-the-road work in progress that he'll take to New York for his second stint in a year. His last show, Glorious, got rave reviews for his stream-of-consciousness delivery, strange ruminations on the mating habits of beekeepers, an almost trippy performance routine on the ramifications of a bird flying inside a plane.

"I never write it down, 'cause I'm a very lazy person and I'm partially dyslexic. I get little ideas and ad lib them onstage and move them around."

Weird is weird, and it turns out conceptual humor does translate. What's trickier has been getting North American audiences used to his sartorial style. Izzard is a transvestite -- which doesn't mean gay ("In my case, I fancy women"). It's an aspect of Izzard that's considered secondary to fans in Britain.

"In North America people latch onto it like I'm a sort of drag act. And I'm like, 'No. I'm just wearing whatever.'"

Indeed, movie audiences will soon see Izzard opposite Ewan McGregor in Todd Haynes' upcoming Velvet Goldmine (about the androgynous glitter-rock scene in early-'70s London). "I play this shithead manager and I don't wear makeup. I'm the most straight person in it, for God's sake, irony of ironies."

His style came in handy, however, for his role as Sean Connery's henchman in The Avengers (with Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman). "In that movie I go around staring at people and chewing gum -- and I have a big fight with Uma Thurman.

"I wear a lot of dark eye makeup. I turned up at audition with that and the clothes and they said, 'We're gonna use all of that!' "