Question Time; with Sophia Chauchard-Stuart: Eddie Izzard, comedian/actor
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Eddie Izzard used to hang around Covent Garden, as a street performer, honing his comedy act. Many years later he took the Ambassadors Theatre by storm, wearing a little black cocktail dress on stage. Avoiding the mass appeal of television in his rise as a comedian, he has taken a sideways step into the theatre as an actor. He is now appearing in David Mamet's Cryptogram back at the Ambassadors. Every Friday night, he encourages the audience to miss the last Tube home and stay behind to watch him in improvisation with the cast. In his spare time, Izzard keeps trying to avoid finishing his sitcom, The Cows.
Which part of London would you most like to live in and why?
Islington, because it's central and yet not too central and it's got groovy transport.
Is there anywhere that you have never visited in London and keep meaning to?
I keep meaning to go to Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and see the Comedy Store improvisation players perform there. I like the idea that it's a combination of comedy and theatre, which is what I'm now doing.
What's your worst transport story?
Northern Line, stuck in a tunnel for 45 minutes.
What is your closest brush with crime?
In the early Eighties, I got done for jumping fares on the Tube and assaulting a police officer. I did a runner but they had me up for resisting arrest. I spent a miserable night in Bow Street cells.
What was the last film you saw and where?
True Romance, Warner West End.
Where did you last eat out, who with and why?
The Dome, Long Acre. It was a script meeting with Nick Whitby, my co-writer, on a sitcom called The Cows which I've been working on for the past century.
Have you ever been banned from anywhere?
Er, London Underground probably.
Have you ever seen anyone famous on the streets?
I saw Larry Hagman a while ago watching a street show in Covent Garden. That was kind of wierd because the only image I have of Hagman is the one he's known for from Dallas.
What would you change about London?
I would reinstate a central London council because it was bullshit when they pulled the last one apart.
(Photograph omitted)
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