Daily Times

Actor and stand-up comedian Eddie Izzard says the recent marathons she has run and documented on social media were good preparation for playing all of the roles in a one-woman, 15,000-word stage production of William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet. “When you do a lot of multiple marathons, a lot of mental energy is needed,” Izzard, who uses she/her pronouns, told UPI in a recent phone interview. “That is exactly what you need to go through Hamlet or Great Expectations or even my stand-up shows,” she added. “It was good mental training.” Opening Sunday after 12 previews and playing through March 3 at the Greenwich House Theater in New York, the show was adapted by Izzard’s older brother, Mark, and directed by Selina Cadell. Eddie Izzard said she feels excited and confident, but also keenly aware that the show’s success rests on her shoulders. “If there were a cast of 23, then someone else would come on the stage and I’d be like, ‘Oh, I’m not in this scene,'” she said.