REVIEW: With ‘Expectations’ high, Eddie Izzard delivers a marvel
Photo: Eddie Izzard performs in a stage adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. Photo courtesy of Carol Rosegg / Provided by BBB with permission.
Eddie Izzard is best known for her exquisitely rendered and expertly delivered comedy routines that have played sold-out theaters around the world. Her style of comedy is that of a rambling wanderer, interested in world history, religion, politics, society and humanity. Her delivery is pitch-perfect, with jokes that build toward hilarious crescendoes and utilize a motley variety of voices, facial expressions and intonations.
Throughout the years, Izzard has also crafted an impressive career of dramatic roles, including turns on Broadway, in film and on television (to say nothing of her dedication to running marathons for charity and trying to earn a seat in Parliament). Now the performer has ascended the stage of the Greenwich House Theater in Manhattan’s West Village to deliver a powerful one-woman rendition of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations.
Isn’t it wonderful that at a time of year when Dickens’ A Christmas Carol can be found in every corner theater, Izzard has turned to a different classic from the prolific British writer. Bringing life to her brother Mark Izzard’s script, the performer has developed a two-hour evening in which she portrays some 20 characters from the original book. She achieves this marathon feat (see what we did there) by utilizing her comedic delivery skills. That’s not to say that this Great Expectations is a hoot; sure, there are funny moments, but the drama wins out over the course of the evening. Instead, Izzard leans into her storytelling sense by physically pivoting left and right when portraying different characters, a technique she credits to the late, great Richard Pryor. Izzard, with a smile or arched eyebrow, can change characters on a whim, expertly delivering conversations, spats, tenderness, and scenes of dread and dismay.
One could easily make the case that Izzard is delivering the performance of the year, and her career. Audiences would be hard-pressed to find a more effective and engaging achievement on a New York stage. Her performance is filled to the brim with poetry and pathos, skillfulness and savvy. She is able to dig deep into each role — whether it be Pip, the protagonist, or Miss Havisham, the mysterious woman who guides the young hero — and when the play becomes quite moving and tender near the inevitable, yet still shocking, ending, the audience is fully believing in the ensemble power of Izzard’s performance. It’s almost as if this interpretation is presented as the stitched-together quilt of a company of actors, yet it’s only one person stage, all the more reason to applaud Izzard’s triumph in making the audience believe in her make-believe.
The story of Great Expectations is greatly reduced for a manageable night at the theater. The adventures of Pip, an orphan in search of love, acceptance and social mobility, are abridged, for sure, but the editing of the original never feels like a dilution. One can follow the narrative from start to finish, and Izzard is able to give justice to the character arcs and progression of the plot. Everything feels non-rushed and comprehensive, a plaudit that can be applied to Izzard the performer and Izzard the adaptor. They work well as a team.
Director Selina Cadell stages the show against the backdrop of a wonderfully atmospheric set designed by Tom Piper. Izzard utilizes the full length of the small stage of the Greenwich House Theater, with no props or accoutrements. There are velvety red curtains hanging at pitched angles, a chandelier lights stage right, and large, expansive windows offer a gloomy view out yonder. Such spartan surroundings are intentional because the focus should be on the performance in this performance piece. Much credit to lighting designer Tyler Elich who is able to gain even further intimacy by subtly changing both the lights on the stage and the lights that surround the audience. It’s a clever technique that clues the crowd into believing something more monologue-based and revealing is about to be uttered.
Izzard had already earned the high respect of the theatergoing crowd before bringing Great Expectations to Manhattan, but this piece surely solidifies her status as one of the most impressive and important performers working right now. For some, like this reviewer, buying a ticket to watch Izzard read from the dictionary would be a fun bit of Friday escapism; therefore, the fact that the audience is getting the masterful interpretation of a British classic from this exquisite performer is a wonderful and rare treat to savor.
Izzard’s Great Expectations is great indeed.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Charles Dicken’s Great Expectations, performed by Eddie Izzard, continues through Feb. 11 at the Greenwich House Theater in New York City. Adapted for the stage by Mark Izzard. Directed by Selina Cadell. Running time: 2 hours with one 15-minute intermission. Click here for more information and tickets.
