Last night Glen and I saw Eddie Izzard‘s latest live show, Force Majeur. Even though I love Izzard’s comedy and have done for years, I was a bit anxious after the first (and only other) time we saw him. This was in Perth where it just lacked the usual Izzard brilliance (and playing one of his old skits, though a popular one, from his phone over the microphone really was a let down, no matter how some in the audience laughed).

But this time we weren’t disappointed.

The good outweighed the slow bits and there some hearty laughs throughout. Plenty of bits of sheer absurdism, with my favourite being a section on moles digging underground and getting lost. The miming in this really sold it and one of the punchlines about a map just being a piece of brown paper made me laugh a lot.

And he revisited Death Star canteen, though thankfully not by replaying it. Instead this time it was an extension that instead of Darth Vader, it was God who showed up in the canteen. Both God and Vader have the same voice apparently (though just before this he did a hilarious bit – reminiscent of the Romans speaking in high voices – whereby if God came down to Earth and spoke in a high voice, we wouldn’t follow him). And then Mr Stevens shows up. It was pretty good.

And did you know the Death Star canteen bit is 13 years old?

The encore was great and brought in different elements that had popped up across the show throughout the night – something I think Izzard does exceptionally well.

And after the encore, he came back on stage for a Q&A. He’s going to run for Mayor of London or an MP in 2020. That should be interesting. I’d vote for him. And not just because he’s an action transvestite.

One bizarre thing that struck me in the show, and it wasn’t even about Izzard, was the way the audience here wants to be part of the show. They call things out and expect to be heard and interacted with. Often to their own humiliation, which makes the audience laugh even more. Strange. To me, it smacks of lack of consideration, because I’m not here to listen to the bozo in the balcony but to the guy on stage. But they must get something out of it.

He’s got three more shows in Toronto and then he’s off somewhere else. Very tempting to see him again but so glad I’ve seen him this time and it was good.

What else has been happening…

Jana and her mum left yesterday morning for Lake Louise. The photos of this snow-covered hideaway in Calgary make it look amazing. It was lovely having them to visit, and staying in the building too. It’s like having friends from home living here temporarily.

We went out for a hot chocolate with them on Tuesday night after they’d been out to dinner with friends and turns out one of them knows Glen and I through Glen’s fellowship application. We all went for a hot chocolate then. Small world.

We had an exceedingly expensive dinner before the show last night. It was called John & Sons Oyster House, tucked away down one of the streets in CBD. Very nice place, cosy, popular with the business crowd. We had two cocktails and two mains. The bill (including tax and tip) came to $105. Glen had a scallop risotto and I had black cod with bak choy. Very nice food but unbelievable really.

The waitress asked us where we were from and she said she’s just got her one-year visa for Australia. She’s off to Melbourne. I told her food prices would be about the same but after looking at the bill I think food is actually cheaper in Australia.

And today I got my haircut. Actually, it’s barely a cut at all. Most of it was shaved with the clippers so it looks decidedly domed with no real shape. Still, what can you expect for $15? At least it’s not wild and woolly anymore.