Review of Eddie Izzard: Unrepeatable

Introduction

Who doesn`t like to laugh? Comedy is universal in that respect, laughing is good; it makes us feel happy, it`s healthy to laugh. But being human, we rarely laugh at the same things. When it comes to stand up, while I chuckle at gags and wisecracks, what I really like are those performers who paint with words, those who can create whole worlds, bizarre surreal worlds where everyday objects or situations are twisted slightly. There isn`t a punch line to be delivered, no rapid delivery of wisecracks to tickle the funny bone, but the imagery engendered by deft weaving of words is enough to reduce me to laughter. Few can accomplish this better than Eddie Izzard.

In 1994, Eddie Izzard: Unrepeatable took place at the Albery Theatre in the West End. Ironically it`s here on this disc to be repeated ad infinitum and you can enjoy his musings on adverts, washing, the secret services, pets and Star Trek whenever you feel the urge. Technology is a wonderful thing.

Video

The picture is presented in a 4:3 format. The image is adequate, the behind the scenes moments and shots of the crowd are a little grainy and indistinct, but once the show proper begins, everything is clear enough.

Audio

The various soundtracks on this disc are all DD 2.0 English. As the live show was performed in the Albery Theatre, the sound naturally has the touch of the auditorium about it. It`s quite echoey and hollow at times, and early in the programme there are moments when Eddie sounded a little indistinct prompting me to skip back. Fortunately subtitles are provided in many languages. Curiously the bleeped audio track sounds marginally clearer, making it the preferable choice if you can do without profanity. I found the sound to be quite disappointing actually and a little detrimental to my enjoyment of the disc.

Features

The extras on this disc include the bleeped audio track for those of you watching with little children. Be aware though that there is no corresponding sanitised subtitle track.

There is also a picture gallery slideshow lasting 40 seconds and displaying several publicity photos of Eddie Izzard.

There is a trivia track, aptly named as it pops up little nuggets of useless information tied in with the material on screen at a certain moment.

Finally there is an audio commentary as Eddie Izzard revisits the Unrepeatable experience ten years down the line. It`s an odd little commentary and a little haphazard. Analysing humour is never an advisable pastime, you tend to take the joy out of it, and it seems a little self indulgent for Eddie to pause once in a while to laugh at his own jokes. Put it this way, while it doesn`t add to the experience, it doesn`t detract either, and it was nice to have made the effort.

Conclusion

This is great stuff. What seems like the explosion of someone`s subconscious turns out to be an absolutely hilarious performance from Eddie Izzard. Drilling cats, transvestites from Russia, monks with afros, and speedboats fashioned from pyjamas all seem like rather odd ramblings when seen on paper, but it`s the journey from beginning to end, getting from subject to subject that is so side-splitting. It`s been nearly a day since I saw it last and my face is just now ceasing to ache.

It even caters for the discerning sci-fi fan, with Eddie`s thoughts on Star Trek making so much sense. Just why can`t phasers be set on limp?

The show is excellent, but the disc isn`t, with the sound quality being the culprit. The extras are nice additions, but don`t really contribute much to the experience. Still it`s well worth it if you are looking for 75 minutes of mirth.