Review: DAME EDNA Bids Her Possums A Glorious Goodbye in Toronto

5 out of 5 stars

It's very rare that you see a performer so skilled in his/her craft that that performer can command the attention of two thousand patrons for two and a half hours single handedly. On Thursday night I had the pleasure of witnessing such a performance: that of Barry Humphries - or as he's best known, Dame Edna.

Edna is an alter-ego created by Humphries during his early acting days in Melbourne. In an epilogue at the end of the show, Humphries (dressed as himself) tells the story of how everyone in Melbourne warned him Sydney audiences wouldn't understand the character. In England, they told him Americans wouldn't "get it." He also recalled how the late Joan Rivers advised him to take the character to San Francisco.

The first act is mostly audience interaction, with Edna also telling us tales about her late husband, her gay son (she's oblivious regarding his sexuality) and daughter who lives with her partner at Jane and Finch and raises bulldogs. If you're sitting in the first few rows, be warned - you're fair game for Edna to pick on you.

In the second act, Dame Edna brought on stage a gay man and a married woman - and she announced to the audience they would now be married in an on-stage ceremony. After a hilariously uncomfortable wedding, Edna brought out a phone and called the woman's husband, who was not with her at the show. After a few laughs at their expense, Edna handed the woman the phone and she promptly asked her husband "Will you still pick me up from the GO station?" You couldn't write stuff like this.

Every performance of Dame Edna's Glorious Goodbye - The Farewell Tour will be different from the last. At the show's core is Humphries' comedic timing, quick tounge, and timely jokes - all of which left me gasping for air as I laughed harder than I've ever laughed in a theatre.

I know it's her farewell tour, but I hope Dame Edna returns to visit her Toronto possums soon - her show is one I could see over and over again. Now on stage through April 19 - tickets available at Mirvish.com.

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