I was also impressed by the way she worked her audience and the way she worked her devastating humour around them. I was amazed by the way the entire show depended on the audience and what they gave; no set routines here. She deserved every glittering sparkle that set her apart from ordinary housewives with every barb that bedazzled us with her superstar status.
I first saw her live at in An Evening's Intercourse at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Tuesday April 6th in 1982. The date stays with me because the Falklands War had started the Friday before and Dame Edna was full of tales about being asked by Thatcher to call around to Downing Street to give her much needed advice on how to handle the Argentines. In setting the scene, Dame Edna spoke of a skip being parked outside Number 10 and described how she couldn't help noticing that was full to the brim of unwanted tins of corned beef.
During the show, she invited quaking members of the audience up on stage. Under the pretense of being able to deduce their true characters from their footwear, she got them to remove one shoe. She then bullied them into cooking a barbeque as they limped around this historic theatre's stage. They all then ate the barbeque, as Edna (ever so nicely) kept the insults flying at a furious pace. Fond memories.
And so it is with great sadness that I learned earlier this week that Dame Edna is to retire. What a loss to the world of comedy, characterisation, celebrity put down, taboo subject matter, taste and niceness this retirement will be.
| Today's run at 17:22 | |||
| Distance | 4.04 km | Time | 22:04 |
| Pace | 5:28 min/km | Cadence | 80 spm |
| Comments: Sunny. | |||
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