Live: The Different Planet Tour

Before he was filling modern arenas, Lee Evans was treating stage comedy like a cardiovascular event. His act is a document of pure aerobic output. He acts out marathon flatulence, demonstrates the mechanics of a disappearing microphone, and pantomimes a corporate boss giving himself a raise, throwing his entire skeleton into every premise. Even the standard observational setups, like complaining about a relaxation tape where the tide has gone out or arriving so late to a childhood egg-and-spoon race that he had to run with a live chicken, are sold with extreme facial elasticity.

Filmed at the Lyric Theatre in London’s West End at the end of a grueling 114-date tour, the 1996 release captures Evans just as his UK profile was rapidly expanding. He closes the show at the piano, bringing the volume down to sing his original track “Failure”.