Pretty Random

Rambling, circuitous, twisty, and random. Eddie Izzard’s damn-near-inimitable style of comedy has been called all of this and more. He’s known for donning fabulous makeup and cross-dressing. Also, he has famously admitted he gets paid a pretty penny “for talking total bollocks.” But in the midst of all of that visually distracting, stream-of-consciousness, free-association mumbo-jumbo, Izzard delivers bons mots of wisdom. You just need to find them. Take his famous “Cake or Death?” bit, which begins as an explanation of why the Church of England will never have fundamentalists á la Islam or Roman Catholicism: “Church of England fundamentalism is impossible because you can't have ‘You must have tea and cake with the vicar ... or you die!’ Tea and cake or death — anyone can answer that question! We're gonna run out of cake at this rate.”

Because of his distinctive delivery — complete with impersonations and multiple voices — Izzard’s jokes don’t translate well on paper or through the lips of enthusiastic fans. He has quite a bit in common with his comedic predecessors in that regard — Izzard comes from the classic Benny Hill and Monty Python school of British comedy, where absurdity rules. He’ll unleash volleys of wit and underlying wisdom beginning at 8 p.m. at The Fillmore Miami Beach.
Fri., June 13, 8 p.m., 2008