Is It Possible to Have a Lifelong Relationship with an Artist?
Eddie Izzard does a one-man Hamlet
’Twas a sunny day when I found myself at Chicago Shakespeare Theater to see a one-man play.
Not just any one-man play: a one-man play of Hamlet.
Not just any one-man play of Hamlet: a one-man play of Hamlet, performed by renowned British comedian, Eddie Izzard.
Why?
Why did renowned British comedian Eddie Izzard feel the need to perform a complete Shakespeare script, consisting of 23 characters?
Why did I go see it?
There are few creators who have the resources to do as they please, and even fewer who have the audience to sustain it.
My time is limited; my attention even more so. But when I find myself loving a work of art – which is so rare for me these days – of course I want to see what the artist will do next.
To a point.
After Fleabag, we followed Phoebe Waller-Bridge through a madlib of a résumé that includes a feminist cop procedural (Killing Eve), a couple-on-the-run anti-romcom (Run), a James Bond film (contribution to No Time to Die), and a Harry Styles music video (merely an appearance). I likely would quit if she did another Star Wars, but quite enjoyed her in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
I followed Lin-Manuel Miranda from Hamilton to a bunch of animated Disney movies (Moana and Encanto), a Mary Poppins sequel (Mary Poppins Returns), and then I, personally, quit somewhere in the second act of the In the Heights movie.
Mumford & Sons gave me two transcendent albums with some of the best poetry of the twenty-first century. When they decided they’d had enough of banjos, I listened to electronica and a lot of Laura Marling. Somewhere around the time Marcus Mumford settled down on a farm with Carey Mulligan and started releasing boring solo music, I called it quits.
When my favorite creator decides they want to make something new, I follow along – out of loyalty, but also to see what happens. Because I really really want the follow up to be good, even if I have a hard time believing it will be.
But there’s a limit.
My siblings and I can all quote Dress to Kill, Izzard’s 1998 stand up special, in its entirety. I watched The Riches, her (very straight) TV show with Minnie Driver. (IIRC it was a victim of the 2007 writers strike.) I got excited for her appearances in the Ocean’s movies (meh). I watched United States of Tara (good). I watched her on The Good Wife, my favorite show (bad). I was weirded out by her cameo in Across the Universe (awesome). I saw Stripped and Force Majeure, two more stand up specials, live in theater.
A year ago, Eddie Izzard did a solo Great Expectations – sure, why not. Hamlet? Okay, sure. With a combination of goodwill and curiostiy, I sat in the Courtyard Theater of CSO with the muzh, ready to see Eddie Izzard perform live for the third time in my life. Let’s let the little actor run around the stage akin to an eldest seven-year-old child entertaining begrudging adults after dinner, shall we?
Except it wasn’t that – not entirely, anyway.
I sat down with a set of questions:
Can it be done?
Can it be done well?
Does it say anything new?
There are some iffy bits, but yes: Hamlet gains new life under Izzard’s auspices.
I usually hate when comedians feel the need to do Drama. I just want to laugh when I see you, why are you being so serious? But Izzard injects her well-known humor throughout. There are callbacks to the voices and characters for which she’s famous from her standup (since there is, after all, overlap between Shakespeare and Izzard’s historical retellings). Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are played by her red-tipped hands. The gravedigger is a textbook Izzard bit.
The serious parts are great, too – the monologues, the sword fight at the end, the drama.
There are shortcomings – other than the ones at the end, the deaths are far too flippant. I tuned out a couple times and when I came back, it would have been helpful to have more character-defining mannerisms to keep track of who’s who.
But watching Izzard’s Hamlet is an experience. Not life-altering, but an experience nonetheless. And I would sign up for another one in a heartbeat.
I always wish for this, to find creators that I can follow anywhere. Whose work I can enjoy for years and years. I love the idea of child stars growing with their audience, boy band members developing more serious tones for their fans – it shows that it’s a two-way street. Parasocial relationships aside, an artist needs an audience. I am an audience. And I appreciate when the artist shows consideration for me.
Their pivots don’t always work, but the love I have for the work these people are creating should fuel the journey they’re on with their art. More than anything, I want to believe that this love is sustainable, that I can have lifelong relationships with artists and keep finding something new and admirable in their work. I’m sad that it’s so rarely the case.
It’s also a good thing, though, I suppose. It’s been hard enough unfollowing random content creators on Instagram when I see they’re calling for a ceasefire with no mention of the hostages. I can’t imagine how painful it would be to have found an artist who I love so much and then have to do a deep dive on their political leanings to figure out whether or not they’re supporting the erasure of the Jewish people. I don’t need Billie Eilish; I don’t need the Hadids. I enjoyed their work, but it’s not that big a deal that I don’t want to support them anymore.
I really do feel such elation that Eddie Izzard is still a part of my enjoyment of life. And I look forward to seeing what she does next.