I’m a radical man with a moderate message: Eddie Izzard

It’s not surprising that Izzard nurses the ambition to take his comedy to as many countries as possible or that he should, after conquering French, German and Spanish, want to incorporate Arabic and Russian to his repertoire. The 54-year-old is, as he says in his Twitter bio, “a British European” who thinks like an American and was born in an Arabic country. He is, in other words, a truly global citizen who has, voiced the need for greater tolerance and unity particularly in Europe and has, through his comedy and otherwise, called out racism, sexism and other manifestations of insularity.

A longtime supporter of the Labour Party, Izzard was in fact one of the leading voices for the Remain Campaign ahead of the Brexit vote last year, even having the Union Jack and the flag of the European Union painted onto his nails.In three years time, he says, he wants to get into politics and run for Member of Parliament. He is even willing to endure extreme physical challenges to support his causes. He ran 27 marathons in 27 days in South Africa to raise funds for Sports Relief, and as a tribute to Nelson Mandela, whom he deeply admires and who spent 27 years in prison during the apartheid years.

Why does Izzard push himself this way? “I’m a radical moderate; a radical man with a moderate message,” he says. Running in Africa, where many countries are not LGBT-friendly, was additionally a statement of defiance for the comedian who came out about his transvestism in his 20s, and went on to perform for many years in make-up and women’s clothing. Will he be wearing make-up for his shows in India? “I haven’t decided yet, but I think I should,” says Izzard, “This is the third millennium, men and women should have the right to wear what they want. I came on in Istanbul wearing a skirt and I got an extra round of applause for that. I think people saw it as a pushback against the increasingly orthodox government. Politics in today’s world is going backwards to the 1930s when it was driven by fear and hate. Fear is the fuel of terrorism and hope is the fuel of civilisation. We should all be learning from each other, and I’m hoping I can inspire people to do so. The ‘melting pot’ is the way to save the world.”