LEGENDARY performer, satirist, artist and comedian Barry Humphries is heading to Canberra in June as part of his tour “Eat Pray Laugh!” – a final bow to Australian audiences.

According to organisers, his famous creations, including cultural attaché the Honorable Sir Les Patterson, are not officially retiring, however Dame Edna Everage insists that this will be her final tour.

“So, Possums, please do come and say goodbye to me. It would be lovely to see your faces for the last  time,” Dame Edna says.

“When you hear your grandchild’s voice saying, ‘Grandma, did you see Dame Edna’s farewell show?’ don’t betray their faith in you. Say ‘yes darling! Many, many times!’”

The show, described as an “all-singing, all-dancing spectacular” will have Dame Edna on stage promising to “empower” audiences as she
meditates on the big issues of gender, ethnicity and climate change.

“Dame Edna insists that we do this final tour to farewell our many friends in Australia,” Humphries says.

“She has toured the world since the mid 1950s and she is ready to kick off her heels and tend to her  gladiolas.”

The tour will also travel to Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast.

Exclusive pre-sale tickets to “Eat Pray Laugh!” will be offered to subscribers of the Canberra Theatre Centre’s “Collected Works” subscription season.

To be notified of special presale tickets sign-up to their e-newsletter at canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

Barry Humphries in “Eat Pray Laugh!” at Canberra Theatre, June 22 to 24. 

[box] Barry Humphries: Educated at the University of Melbourne, where he studied law, philosophy and fine arts, Barry Humphries performed regularly in university revues before joining the newly formed Melbourne Theatre Company.

In 1955, he created the remarkable Mrs Edna Everage, a purple-rinsed Melbourne housewife now known around the world as the gigastar Dame Edna. Dame Edna has since appeared on stage during theatrical  tours of Europe, the US and the Middle East.

Humphries won a special Tony Award for his 2000 Broadway offering “Dame Edna, The Royal Tour” and a Tony nomination in 2004 for “Back with a Vengeance”.

Dame Edna has also appeared regularly on television in Australia, the UK, Europe and the US, winning Humphries the Golden Rose of Montreux in 1991.

Her creator has also won numerous honours for his contribution to cultural life, including an Order of Australia in 1982, an Honorary Doctorate of Griffith University (Australia) in 1994, a Doctorate of Law from  Melbourne University in 2003 and a CBE for his contribution to the arts in 2007. He was recently presented  with the Australian of the Year in the United Kingdom award at Australia House in London. [/box]