Comedian takes Ludlow by storm

11:30am Saturday 15th November 2008

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Eddie Izzard. One man, one microphone, stripped of all pretensions and back to doing what he does best - stand-up.

For one glorious night at Ludlow Assembly Rooms, the audience was taken on a virtual tour of life, the universe and everything, Eddie-style.

This one-off gig was part of a six-date warm-up tour for a West End run of his show 'Stripped' and it's not just his image (looking make-up free and goatie-bearded fabulous in jeans, t-shirt and jacket) to which that title applies.

The ever-challenging comedian strips away the layers of myth and legend involved in the big questions of religion, creation and evolution and debunks them in true surreal fashion.

So we get chickens with trumpets stuck to their beaks, stoned squirrels and giant squid on the moon, and an hilarious look at just why Noah's Ark really wouldn't have worked...

But the joy with Eddie's comedy is not the 'punchline', but how we get there and it's good to see that his success in his dramatic roles has not affected his ad-libbing and conversational style, which are as unique and brilliant as they have ever been.

The assembly rooms was a perfectly intimate venue - it was amazing to be sitting just feet away from someone I've admired for nearly 20 years - making the whole event feel much more personal and allowing great audience participation.

This was one night with Eddie Izzard which will stay in the memory for quite some time.

Sarah Veall