Eddie plans three-month Paris run – in French

Eddie Izzard is to move to France for three months in order to fully conquer stand-up in a foreign language.

It follows his attempts to perform to a French audience more than a decade ago, when he struggled with the vocabulary.

Now he plans to decamp to Paris from April to master the language by performing a version of last year’s one-man show Stripped for 12 weeks..

He told The Independent: ‘I did two weeks of gigs ten years ago and I haven't been back. This time I'm going for three months.

‘I've got management but it's very difficult to persuade anyone to help me in Paris because they were saying this isn't going to work. It's like a play sitting down. I'm just going to stay in Paris, playing six gigs a week.

‘After two months I should be doing stuff that really is – if not like a French guy doing it – something that is entertaining and that any French speaker can hopefully get.

‘People say there's a French sense of humour but that I don't believe. I just believe there is mainstream and alternative humour in every country. I'm going to do this and when I do it the floodgates will open.’

He said the challenge reflected his support for greater European unity, and still harbours ambitions to perform in German and Arabic.

Published: 19 Nov 2010