''Circle'' is the name of a stand-up tour by the

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

Eddie Izzard in 2000. It was released on VHS and

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in the

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on 18 November 2002. The video includes Eddie performing a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

version of her show with English

subtitle Subtitles and captions are lines of dialogue or other text displayed at the bottom of the screen in films, television programs, video games or other visual media. They can be transcriptions of the screenplay, translations of it, or informati ...

s. The performance features many of Izzard's traditional themes, particularly religion (or "philosophies with some good ideas, and some very weird ones"). A discussion about Jesus' role in the three main Abrahamic faiths sees her "waiting offstage" in Judaism and playing on the same sporting team as Muhammad in Islam. This is counterpointed with a dialogue between a Crusader and her enemy in which both men are trying to kill the other "in the name of Jesus". She also mentions her impression that in Buddhism, Jesus is "Buddha's baby brother Benny". The rigidity of religion is also lampooned, particularly as it relates to the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

's persecution by the

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is mentioned, although the man is eventually asked (in prison) "Galileo, Galileo, will you do the fandango?" Several concepts featured in "Circle" have become well known among Izzard fans. Among these is a discussion of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, specifically the names chosen by new popes, with the idea being that Popes John and John Paul will eventually be followed by Pope John Paul George and Ringo. A subsequent sequence talks about the renaming of a wartime pope as "Pope Gutless Bastard I" due to his refusal to condemn

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. Another famous rant involves another appearance of "God and Jesus" (where God is represented by a

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...

impression). Among other issues, this dialogue involves God questioning the wisdom of Jesus being born on Christmas Day and dying at Easter, as well as involving "cannibalism" and "vampirism" in the new religion. The sequence culminates in suggestions of what else could have been used at the Last Supper, most notably "take these oysters, for they are my kneecaps". Perhaps the most quoted part of the routine, however, is Izzard's " Death Star Canteen", derived from Izzard's observation that there had to be some sort of source of food (such as a cafeteria) on the Death Star in the

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

movies. This observation results in an extended dialogue in which Darth Vader is attempting to order "

Penne all'arrabbiata Arrabbiata sauce, or ''sugo all'arrabbiata'' in Italian (''arabbiata'' in Romanesco dialect), is a spicy sauce for pasta made from garlic, tomatoes, and dried red chili peppers cooked in olive oil. The sauce originates from the Lazio region, and ...

" for lunch, only to be forced to get a tray (which is wet) and later be forced to admit that he is "Jeff Vader" in order to get respect.

External links

Circle
- article at The Official Eddie Izzard Site * {{IMDb title, id=0342317, title=Eddie Izzard: Circle
The Cake or Death Site
Stand-up comedy concert films Eddie Izzard albums Stand-up comedy albums Spoken word albums by English artists 2002 video albums 2002 live albums Live video albums