British comedy legend Suzy Eddie Izzard has been forced to postpone her highly anticipated Australian tour due to a significant knee injury that requires medical treatment and prevents international travel.
The performer, known for her surreal and freewheeling comedy style, was originally scheduled to be in Australia this week but will now arrive in May 2026 for a two-month engagement that includes both comedy and dramatic performances.
The Injury That Changed Everything
Izzard revealed the unfortunate situation in her trademark humorous style, explaining: "I'm not moving because I've busted my knee, I've got a leg brace on and had a procedure and they say I can't fly because of deep vein thrombosis."
Never one to miss a comedic opportunity, she immediately added: "Yes, Deep Vein Thrombosis, which is the name of a band, a thrash metal band. Their singer is ... Anna Phylaxis."
This typical Izzard tangent demonstrates the unique comedic mind that has made her one of Britain's most beloved stand-up comedians since the 1990s.
Rescheduled Australian Performances
The postponement means Australian fans will experience an extended Izzard season featuring both her comedy and dramatic talents. The new schedule includes:
- The Remix Tour - A 'greatest hits' comedy show at Sydney Opera House on May 18, 2026
- Hamlet - A one-woman Shakespeare performance featuring 23 different characters, running for 15 performances throughout June 2026
Izzard describes the Remix Tour as featuring "the ones I like the best" from her 35-year stand-up career, promising audiences a compilation of her most beloved "weird and crazy comedy stories."
From Comedy to Shakespearean Drama
Australia will be the first country to witness Izzard's transition from the comedy that made her famous to the dramatic roles she considers her true calling. She explains this progression with characteristic wit: "Australia is going to be the first country to see me go from the earlier part of my career to the later part of my career, going from comedy to drama. It's just like how Shakespeare went from his comedy to his dramas."
Her solo performance of Hamlet represents the culmination of years of preparation and follows her acclaimed off-Broadway adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, where she portrayed 21 different characters.
The Hamlet production has already proven successful, with Izzard noting: "We've done [Hamlet] for two years, 50,000 tickets sold and I'm loving it. And it is using all the skills of my life really."
She draws parallels between her early street performing days at London's Covent Garden and Elizabethan actors, noting both had to contend with unpredictable outdoor conditions and audience interactions.
Izzard's approach to performing multiple characters in Hamlet involves careful staging she describes as "like a piece of dance or a chess game against yourself." She emphasizes the importance of maintaining "the architecture of the characters on the stage" so audiences can keep each character in their "mind's eye."
The performer, who has appeared in films alongside stars like George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Judi Dench, initially pursued Shakespearean roles herself after finding traditional casting opportunities limited. "I thought, 'Well, no one's giving me Iago, no one's giving me anything. So I'll set it up myself,'" she recalls.
Despite the initial weight of performing Hamlet's famous "to be, or not to be" soliloquy, Izzard now approaches it as if the audience represents "the Greek chorus of my mind," delivering the lines to them rather than at them.
History buffs will appreciate Izzard's intellectual approach to both comedy and drama. Her 2022 special Wunderbar explored topics ranging from the Big Bang to historical patterns in human behavior. She describes herself as an avid autodidact who enjoys finding patterns in history, believing that "if you keep looking at the patterns from before, we will probably repeat those similar patterns going forward."
While the knee injury represents a temporary setback, Australian audiences can look forward to an extended celebration of Izzard's diverse talents when she finally arrives in May 2026, fully recovered and ready to deliver both laughter and drama.
