Eddie Izzard: Definite Article is a British standup comedy special produced by Ella Communications Ltd. which was filmed over two nights at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London in 1996 as part of Izzard's sold-out ten-week run of the same name which covers topics such as The Italian Job, Pavlov's dogs and European languages.
The special was released on VHS and DVD in the United Kingdom on 21 October, 1996. It is 109 minutes long.
Eddie Izzard: Definite Article aired in South Africa on DStv's Comedy Central channel on Thursday 13 June 2013, at 20h55.
Synopsis
Eddie Izzard's third show, Definite Article, opened at London's Shaftesbury Theatre in October 1995. The show ran for 10 weeks and was a total sensation, selling out completely.
Memorably, the show opened with Izzard entering the stage through the pages of a giant book, seated in a giant armchair and resplendent in an orange Gaultier jacket.
On the opening night a button fell off the jacket. Izzard said of the incident, "An actor would have kicked it to the side of the stage. I thought: I'll talk about this. Then I tried to pull the thread off but couldn't get to it. Someone threw a pair of scissors on stage, then someone threw a sewing kit. I said 'Good heckle'.
"I knew I had to do it. Once you commit, as long as you finish you'll be fine, so I sewed the button back on and talked about my granny and her sewing. That's what I learned from street performing, all you have to do is finally do it."
A four-month world tour with Definite Article followed in September 1996. It was during the UK leg of the tour, at a performance at the Cambridge Corn Exchange in November 1997, that Izzard was engaged in a fracas with an audience member, who insulted him for wearing makeup and eccentric, cross dressing attire, the result of which was a black eye for Izzard.
Definite Article won Izzard a second British Comedy Award for "Top Stand-up Comedian" and a New York Drama Desk Award nomination for "Best Solo Artist".