Comedian Barry Humphries will once more channel his outrageous, outlandish characters—including Dame Edna Everage and Sandy Stone—when he brings his farewell tour to the London Palladium for one last run on the West End beginning November 13, 2013. Opening night for the show, directed by Simon Phillips and titled Eat, Pray, Laugh!, is scheduled for November 15.
Dame Edna will take her final bow at the iconic London venue in a two-act special, the first of which features the grandfatherly Sandy Stone and the offensive, lecherous Sir Les Patterson. Act two features an “orgasmic appearance” by Dame Edna who, surrounded by spectacular sets and dancers, will ruminate on the big issues of loss, gender, climate change, gay marriage and ethnicity.
Prior to playing the Palladium, Eat, Pray, Laugh! will open its tour at the Milton Keynes Theatre on October 23 and continue on through Cardiff and Edinburgh. After the West End engagement, the tour will play Leeds, Newcastle, Southampton, Norwich, Glasgow, Bristol and Manchester.
Humphries created the dazzling Dame in 1956, and has since toured her around the world as a bonafide “housewife superstar.” Dame Edna has played the West End and Broadway, earning a Tony Award and countless honors in the U.K. and Australia. Humphries had previously announced that he would retire the character of Dame Edna in 2012.