Saturday, June 23, 2007

The Dame Edna Treatment - 50th Anniversary Show

Oh, Possums! At last! A glimmer of gladioli glamour is again on the horizon!


The Dame Edna Treatment is returning to our television screens on 30th June, and what's more, this is a special episode celebrating Dame Edna's 50th anniversary of entertaining nonentities around the world in true megastar style! Isn't that exciting, my darlings?

As we reported in earlier posts about The Dame Edna Treatment, the musical guest star for this episode is the singing diva k.d.lang, who will be performing a duet of "I'm Every Woman" with Dame Edna. How gorgeous! But that's not all - Robin Gibb will also be performing - here's hoping he's going to sing the show's fantastic theme song celebrating our favourite Australian housewife/megastar!

You're practically drooling with anticipation to know who else will be visiting Spa Edna for this special occasion, aren't you, Possums?

It's a great line-up: James Nesbitt (currently seen on BBC's Jekyll), ex-inmate and author Jeffrey Archer (who was a brilliant guest of Edna's in the 80s!), and best of all, glamour-puss and New York socialite, Ivana Trump - now that should be fun!!!! Chances are that Ivana and Dame Edna are old friends - perhaps they first met in Switzerland when they both happened to be there visiting their money?

In other news, the web, of course, continues to be overwhelmed with stories of Barry Humphries and his much deserved CBE, announced just last week. Last week we reported on the fantastic interview with Dame Edna on Radio 4 about this accolade, and you can now listen to it in it's entirety here , along with a BBC News retrospective on the man behind the megastar.

It's a busy ole time in the Dame Edna universe, Possums! Television shows! Awards!
Streets renamed! Theatrical appearances! Press coverage!

Long may her reign as the queen of megastardom continue!

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Dame Edna Creator Barry Humphries Receives CBE!

Oh, Possums!

Isn't it exciting? Dame Edna creator Barry Humprhies has been awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List this year! The newspapers and media are awash this weekend with the news!!!

Left: Headline on the front page of the The Times, with photo by Lisa Marie Williams.

BBC Radio 4 featured an interview with Dame Edna on Saturday morning (Barry Humphries learned of the honour after coming off stage in Brisbane, Australia, where he is performing in "Back With a Vengeance", his 50th Anniversary show).

Dame Edna expressed relief that Barry Humphries had finally been given an honour: "The envy and bitterness from him...I'm a dame, and even Les Patterson is a knight, and Barry has been chafing in a pretty undignified way. He's really the David Gest to my Liza Minnelli."

She went on to explain that she had a part to play in the award. "I had a little word with the Queen. I said 'Please! Throw him a crumb! Throw him something!"

The interviewer John Humphries (the nice Humphries, Dame Edna declared) went on to enquire about an award that Barry had been given previously in Australia, and Dame Edna confirmed that it was called "The Order of the Golden Wombat"...or something like that. She also said that despite the republican controversy, Australians had recently voted to keep their ties to the crown. But she also confided "I know her majesty was praying and hoping (that they wouldn't vote to remain her subjects) so she wouldn't have to make the long journey and be given very unacceptable tea cosies." She went on to say that, in any event "I'm really thought of as Australian royalty!".

Returning to the award, she seemed relieved to report that this new honour meant that Barry has calmed down a great deal despite his envy of Edna. "He's transformed...he can't wait to wear it, whatever it is...I think he expects a coronet!"

And finally, of her new show "Back With a Vengeance", she humbly told listeners "It's the best show I've ever done....every new one is!"


Thursday, June 07, 2007

Dame Edna Buzz

Hello Darlings! Hello Possums!

You gorgeous things! You've been desperate for another update, haven't you? Well, there's nothing like a little news of Australian megastar glamour to brighten up a day, is there?

Well, lucky for you, here at The Untamed Edna Experience office, we've been keeping track of all the glad tidings of the gladioli guru, and have found that the internet is a-buzz with lucky possums galore who have been fortunate enough to see Dame Edna's show "Back With a Vengeance" which is back on tour down-under, creating show business history.

Quicksticks, Darlings! Check out these links to the reviews and blogs of the possum-passionate: