Barry Humphries offers The Man Behind the Mask in Eastbourne

This intimate, confessional evening will be seasoned with highly personal, sometimes startling and occasionally outrageous stories.

Now aged 88, this is the first time Barry Humphries has taken a tour out as himself rather than as his alter-egos which include the larger-than-life Dame Edna Everage and the boorish Sir Les Patterson.

The UK welcomed Dame Edna with open arms, immediately becoming a household favourite and filling our living rooms with many years of laughter. In this new show Barry peels off his mask to introduce the man behind the clown.

He says: “This is a show in which I am the principal character; it’s not Les, it’s not Edna, it’s not Sandy Stone. It is really about this character called me. I’m not in disguise.”

Aussie mega-star Dame Edna is beloved for her lilac hair, exuberant style and her ability to insult and charm at the same time. With a “Hello Possums” she burst onto the British consciousness in the late 1970s and early 1980s with huge successes on BBC and ITV with her An Audience With Dame Edna Everage in front of an audience of invited celebrities. Describing her presenting style as “really a monologue interrupted by total strangers” she attracted huge celebrities and bigger viewing figures.

Barry Humphries was a university drop-out from a well-heeled suburban Australian family who went from working in the warehouse of EMI smashing-up records literally to enjoying an international career spanning multiple decades.

In this new show Barry gets the chance to share some of his stories from a lifetime of working in showbusiness, his encounters with royalty and recounting some of the pranks that he’s pulled, many on his friends which include some of the biggest names in 20th and 21st century popular culture.

Tickets from £22-£51.50; 01323 412000 oronline eastbournetheatres.co.uk.

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