Editing Dame Edna Everage (section)

== Stage and screen performances ==
=== 1950s–1999 ===
Humphries played the character at comedy clubs, satirising the atmosphere of 1950s Melbourne suburbia. An interview with "Mrs Everage" was one of the programmes screened on [[HSV-7]]'s first day of programming in 1956. Another revue called Rock'n'Reel followed in 1958 at the New Theatre in Melbourne. She appeared in a televised revue shown on New Year's Eve, 1958, ''[[Wild Life and Christmas Belles]]''.

The character's overseas debut, now as Edna Everage, was in the early 1960s at comedian [[Peter Cook]]'s nightclub, [[The Establishment (club)|The Establishment]], in London's West End, where she received a poor review from [[Bamber Gascoigne]], then the drama critic for ''[[The Spectator]]''. Barry Humphries cites Cook as being instrumental in launching Edna's UK career. While her first appearances at the Establishment Club were a flop, the mousy Edna being too quiet to please that raucous crowd, a 2016 interviewer William Cook saw the early failure as a blessing, so that Humphries spent the sixties as a jobbing actor rather than as a pampered star.<ref name="William Cook pp15-18"/>

In 1972, the character appeared as [[Barry McKenzie]]'s "Aunt Edna" in the film, ''[[The Adventures of Barry McKenzie]]''. In the sequel ''[[Barry McKenzie Holds His Own]]'', the Australian Prime Minister [[Gough Whitlam]] cameos at the close of the film to confer upon Edna the title of [[Dame (title)|Dame]], henceforth to be known as "Dame Edna".

Following the lukewarm reception to Edna's early appearances in Humphries' 1969 stageshow ''Just a Show'' and the BBC television series ''The Barry Humphries Scandals'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/barryhumphries/ |title=Barry Humphries  |access-date=2011-07-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410090505/http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/barryhumphries/ |archive-date=10 April 2011 }}</ref> a growing awareness and appreciation among British audiences for Edna emerged and Humphries devised a stage show titled ''Edna Everage Housewife Superstar'' which was successfully presented in London's [[West End theatre|West End]] in the mid-1970s. The show featured monologues, songs and what was becoming an Edna trademark – interaction with the theatre audience.

In April 1976, Edna made an appearance in ''A Poke in the Eye (with a Sharp Stick)''&nbsp;— the first of what became [[Amnesty International]]'s [[The Secret Policeman's Balls|Secret Policeman's Ball]] series of benefit shows. Edna performed a song for the show and was featured in the film of the show. She also appeared in the 1981 Amnesty show ''[[The Secret Policeman's Other Ball]]''. Edna made a cameo appearance in the 1978 film ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (film)|Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]''. In 1979 she was the subject of a [[BBC]] ''[[Arena (UK TV series)|Arena]]'' [[mockumentary]]: ''La Dame aux Gladiolas''.

Humphries debuted the character off-Broadway in New York City in the late 1970s, but the show received such a poor review from ''[[The New York Times]]'' that Humphries later joked that he thought, "Well, I'll go back to Broadway but I'll wait till the critic's dead&nbsp;— and I had to wait 25 years. I had to wait a quarter of a century for that critic to die".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s864967.htm |title=ENOUGH ROPE with Andrew Denton – episode 11: Barry Humphries (26/05/2003) |publisher=ABC |date=26 May 2003 |access-date=21 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121208074112/http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s864967.htm |archive-date=8 December 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Dame Edna's success grew in the UK throughout the 1980s and early 1990s with semi-regular stage and television shows. Her first TV specials were in 1978–1979 on BBC, but she became popular with broadcaster [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] after her initial performance on ''An Audience With&nbsp;... Dame Edna Everage'' in 1980, in front of an audience of invited celebrities. She went on to perform two more ''[[An Audience With...]]'' specials (in 1984 and 1988), the only performer ever to make three shows in the series.

In 1987, Edna starred alongside Humphries's vulgar alter-ego [[Les Patterson]] in the comedy feature ''[[Les Patterson Saves the World]]''. In the same year ''[[The Dame Edna Experience]]'', ostensibly a talk show which she described as "really a monologue interrupted by total strangers" aired, featuring high-profile "celebrity guests" such as [[Sean Connery]], [[Mel Gibson]], [[Joan Rivers]], and [[Germaine Greer]] (an old friend of Humphries'), as well as Madge, her silent, sour-faced "bridesmaid and travelling companion". In 1989, the show was back for a second season, this time taking place in her "luxury penthouse suite" where her guests stayed and, in the case of [[Douglas Fairbanks, Jr]], did her grocery shopping. Subsequently, these shows were aired in the U.S. on PBS, broadening her audience and enlarging her fame. ''[[Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch]]'' a reality/game show hybrid, aired in 1992, and saw her and Madge having a look at her "by invitation only, ladies audience" member's houses, and evaluating their housekeeping skills. U.S. television specials followed, as did an unsuccessful series which aired only one episode. She appeared as a guest of [[Phil Donahue]] on his talk show on 17 February 1993.

In 1997, she appeared in another television talk show ''Dr Dame Edna Kisses It Better''. Edna continued her Australian stage and television appearances including a record five appearances as guest presenter at the [[TV Week Logie Awards]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.logies2008.blogspot.com|title=TV Week Logie Awards 2008|author=Aussie TV Fan|work=logies2008.blogspot.com|access-date=11 February 2015}}</ref> and a role as a co-narrator (along with Humphries and Les Patterson) of the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]]'s Australian social history series ''Barry Humphries Flashbacks'' in 1999.

=== 2000–2009 ===
In 2000 and 2004, Dame Edna appeared on Broadway, and toured America with both shows. These were ostensibly not "performances", but rather "appearances", with Dame Edna giving monologues and interacting with audience members. Her 2000 show, ''The Royal Tour,'' won the [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show]], and a [[Tony Award]].

During 2001 and 2002, Dame Edna appeared in the fifth season of the television show ''[[Ally McBeal]]'' playing the guest role of Claire Otoms, a client of the show's law firm who later became a secretary at the same firm. The character shared Dame Edna's voice and style and was explicitly listed in the opening credits as being played by Dame Edna Everage (although Barry Humphries received a credit in the closing credits). Claire Otoms is an [[anagram]] of "A Sitcom Role".

In the 2002 motion picture ''[[Nicholas Nickleby (2002 film)|Nicholas Nickleby]]'', Dame Edna plays the role of Mrs. Crummles, an actress and wife of the manager of a provincial theatre company. Barry Humphries also appears in the film as Mr. Leadville.

Dame Edna appeared at the [[Party at the Palace]] in London in 2002 where she referred to the Queen as the "jubilee girl".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-04-22 |title=Barry Humphries: Dame Edna Everage comedian dies at 89 |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65328507 |access-date=2023-04-25}}</ref>

The nostalgic "Barry Humphries: Back to my Roots" tour featured Humphries, Edna, Sir Les and [[Sandy Stone (Barry Humphries character)|Sandy Stone]] around Australia in 2003.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/06/1057430074172.html | work=The Sydney Morning Herald | title=Back to my roots and other suckers, Barry Humphries}}</ref>

In 2002, New Zealand artist [[Maurice Bennett]] was commissioned by an Australian bread company to create a {{convert|7.35|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall 2,989-slice toast portrait of Dame Edna. It was exhibited on a billboard in [[La Trobe Street]] in [[Melbourne]].<ref name="Manson">{{cite news |last1=Manson |first1=Bess |title=Life Story: Maurice Bennett's artwork was the toast of the town |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/80816431/life-story-maurice-bennetts-artwork-was-the-toast-of-the-town |access-date=11 January 2023 |work=Stuff |date=8 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Nadine |title=Toast of the town |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/356028363 |access-date=11 January 2023 |work=The Advertiser |date=28 August 2002 |location=Adelaide |page=20|id={{ProQuest|356028363}} }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lloyd-McDonald |first1=Holly |title=Artist pops up to toast our Edna |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/360423604 |access-date=11 January 2023 |work=Herald Sun |date=28 October 2002 |page=5|id={{ProQuest|360423604}} }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Edna's toast of the town |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/358875041 |access-date=12 January 2023 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=28 October 2002 |location=N.S.W. |page=2| id={{ProQuest|358875041}} }}</ref>

In 2003, she had an interview punctuated with NPR Weekend Edition's host Scott Simon's table-pounding laughter.<ref>{{cite episode| url =https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=935921 | series=Weekend Edition |title=A Bit of a Chat with Dame Edna| network=NPR | date=25 January 2003}}</ref>

The character celebrated her 50th "birthday" in 2005. She appeared in the 2005 Myer Christmas advert. To mark the occasion, in 2006, [[Australia Post]] featured Edna on a postage stamp<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/hello-possums-as-dame-edna-comes-in-for-a-good-licking/2006/01/20/1137734154379.html | work=The Sydney Morning Herald | title=Hello Possums, as Dame Edna comes in for a good licking | date=21 January 2006}}</ref> and the [[Lord Mayor of Melbourne]] presented Edna with the key to the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1722232.htm |title=The World Today – Melbourne fetes Dame Edna |publisher=Abc.net.au |date=23 August 2006 |access-date=21 March 2013}}</ref> She toured Australia with the stageshow "Barry Humphries Back With a Vengeance" and appeared on camera "together" with Humphries for the first time in an interview by [[Ray Martin (television presenter)|Ray Martin]] for Australia's [[60 Minutes (Australian TV program)|60 Minutes]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/stories/raymartin/259443/great-dame |title=Great Dame |publisher=Sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au |date=3 September 2006 |access-date=21 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927013512/http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/stories/raymartin/259443/great-dame |archive-date=27 September 2013}}</ref> She also appeared on screen at the [[2006 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony|Closing Ceremony]] of the [[2006 Commonwealth Games]] in Melbourne while 1000 "Commonwealth Dames" danced around the arena wearing purple wigs, garish costumes and gladioli, singing along to her song, "We've Made The Most of Melbourne" : "It's not as small as Adelaide, Compared to Canberra, it's bliss, And if you've been to Melbourne, You can give Sydney a miss."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/commonwealth-games/melbourne-we-did-it/2006/03/26/1143330923113.html?page=fullpage | work=The Sydney Morning Herald | title=Melbourne, we did it! | date=26 March 2006}}</ref>

On 20 May 2006, she appeared on ITV's coverage of [[The Prince's Trust]] 30th Birthday Concert. During the telethon-style segments of the event, she took part in a game of ''[[Blind Date (UK TV series)|Blind Date]]'' picking former ''[[The X Factor (UK TV series)|X Factor]]'' contestant [[Chico Slimani]] over actors [[Roger Moore]] and [[Richard E Grant]].

In the summer of 2006, Dame Edna appeared on ''[[The Tonight Show with Jay Leno]]'' alongside [[Billy Crystal]]. On 23 September 2006, during an interview on ''[[Parkinson (TV series)|Parkinson]]'', she revealed that she would be returning to [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] in 2007 with a new chat show called ''[[The Dame Edna Treatment]]''. The show began on Saturday 17 March 2007, with the set-up being that Edna runs a health spa where various famous guests come for treatment.

On 17 December 2006, Dame Edna appeared as a guest panellist on the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] TV Show ''[[Spicks and Specks (TV series)|Spicks and Specks]]'' where she sang with presenter [[Adam Hills]]. On 16 December 2007, she appeared as the last guest on the final episode of the ''[[Parkinson (TV series)|Parkinson]]'' UK talk show. On 29 May 2008, she appeared on ''[[The Graham Norton Show]]'' alongside [[Ray Mears]] and [[Alanis Morissette]]. On 8 August 2008, she appeared on ''[[Loose Women]]'' on the final show of that year's series. On 12 September 2008, 15 December 2008, and 27 May 2009, she made guest appearances on ''[[The Tonight Show with Jay Leno]]''.{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}

Accompanied by her daughter Valmai in America and Sir Les Patterson in the UK, Dame Edna again toured with what was declared ''My First Last Tour''. On television in early 2009, she appeared in adverts to publicise the insurance company [[Norwich Union]]'s change of name to [[Aviva]], quoting her change of name from Mrs Everage. On 9 June 2009, she appeared as a guest on ''The Late Late Show'' with Craig Ferguson. On 17 July 2009, she appeared as a guest on ''[[Friday Night with Jonathan Ross]]''. On an episode of ''[[The One Show]]'' in September 2009 a piece of graffiti on [[City of Sunderland|Sunderland]]'s [[Penshaw Monument]] read "Edna Woz Ere 09" and a pair of Everage's signature glasses were drawn next to it. Dame Edna performed the "Last Night of the Poms" at the [[Royal Albert Hall]] accompanying the [[Royal Philharmonic Orchestra]] on 15 September 2009 and on 21 September, she appeared as a guest on Channel 4's "[[The Paul O'Grady Show]]".{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}

=== 2010–2023 ===
[[File:Edna statue.jpg|thumb|upright|Bronze statue of Dame Edna at [[Docklands, Victoria|Waterfront City, Docklands]], Melbourne]]
In 2010, Dame Edna collaborated with [[cabaret]] pianist and singer [[Michael Feinstein]] for a two-person revue in the United States, titled ''All About Me'', based on the premise that the pair were rivals who were forced to work together for the show's sake. The show opened as the second production for the newly refurbished [[Henry Miller's Theatre]] and was planned to run from 18 March through 18 July 2010 (with previews beginning on 22 February), but lukewarm reviews and low ticket sales led to the limited engagement being cut short and closing on 4 April 2010, after 27 previews and 20 regular performances.<ref>Hetrick, Adam.[http://www.playbill.com/news/article/138257-Brief-Duet-Broadways-All-About-Me-with-Feinstein-and-Everage-to-Close-April-4 "Brief Duet: Broadway's All About Me, with Feinstein and Everage, to Close 4 April"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100331191613/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/138257-Brief-Duet-Broadways-All-About-Me-with-Feinstein-and-Everage-to-Close-April-4 |date=31 March 2010 }} playbill.com, 29 March 2010</ref> On 25 March 2010, she appeared on the television talk show ''[[The View (U.S. TV series)|The View]]'' as a guest host to promote the production.{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}

On 29 April 2011, she appeared on the [[Nine Network|Channel Nine]] broadcast ''William and Kate: The Royal Wedding'', with [[Karl Stefanovic]] and [[Lisa Wilkinson]], covering the [[wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton]] at [[Buckingham Palace]], along with [[Tracy Grimshaw]] and [[Kathy Lette]] at [[Westminster Abbey]].

On 18 March 2012, Humphries announced he would "retire" the Dame Edna character because he was "beginning to feel a bit senior".<ref name="ABC18Mar2012">{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-18/dame-edna-calls-it-a-day/3897072|title=Curtains for Humphries' Dame Edna Everage|publisher=ABC News/AFP|date=18 March 2012}}</ref>

On 15 March 2013, Dame Edna Everage appeared on ''[[Red Nose Day 2013]]'' as a guest star and judge for the ''Comic Relief Does MasterChef'' competition between [[Jack Whitehall]] and [[Micky Flanagan]].

In June 2013, Dame Edna returned in a [[Sydney Opera House]] production of ''[[Peter and the Wolf]]''.

In 2013, Dame Edna announced her final tour of the United Kingdom. The show opened in November 2013 at the [[London Palladium]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/jul/15/dame-edna-everage-uk-tour |title=Dame Edna Everage announces farewell UK tour |work=The Guardian|date=15 July 2013|access-date=8 November 2013}}</ref> before beginning a UK tour in January 2014.<ref>{{cite news |first=John-Paul |last=Stephenson |title=Alreet, Possums? Edna Everage begins farewell tour in Newcastle |url=http://www.gigglebeats.co.uk/2014/01/alreet-possums-edna-everage-begins-farewell-tour-in-newcastle/ |work=Giggle Beats |date=21 January 2014 |access-date=21 January 2014}}</ref>

On 11 February 2015, she appeared on ''[[The Great British Bake Off|The Great Comic Relief Bake Off]]'' in aid of [[Comic Relief]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b052sjf9|title=BBC One – The Great Comic Relief Bake Off, Series 2, Episode 1|work=BBC|access-date=11 February 2015}}</ref>

Dame Edna's Glorious Goodbye – The Farewell Tour began in [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]] at The [[Moore Theatre]] (15–18 January 2015) and continued on to The [[Ahmanson Theatre]] in [[Los Angeles]] (24 January 2015 through 15 March 2015) next traveling to [[San Francisco]]'s [[Orpheum Theatre (San Francisco)|Orpheum Theater]] (17–22 March 2015) then on to the [[McCallum Theatre]] in [[Palm Desert, California]] (30 March 2015 – 4 April 2015) then [[Toronto|Toronto, Ontario]], [[Canada]]'s [[Princess of Wales Theatre]] (9–19 April 2015) and concluding in [[Washington, D.C.]] at the [[National Theatre (Washington, D.C.)|National Theatre]] (21–26 April 2015.){{citation needed|date=September 2015}}

Dame Edna was a guest on ''[[Michael McIntyre|Michael McIntyre's Big Christmas Show]]'', broadcast by BBC1 on Christmas Day 2015.{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}

Dame Edna appeared briefly in ''[[Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie]]'' (2016) in a non-speaking cameo, one of two characters played by Humphries in the film.

On 19 September 2019, Dame Edna appeared on the [[Today (BBC Radio 4)|''Today'']] programme with [[John Humphrys]]. This was Humphry's final programme as presenter.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49752274|title=Cameron, Blair and Dame Edna join Humphrys' final Today programme|work=BBC News|date=19 September 2019}}</ref>

In what would become the final appearance of the character before Humphries' death, Dame Edna returned to the BBC for a one-off special, ''Dame Edna Rules The Waves'', in which she (belatedly) publicly acknowledged the death of Madge, first broadcast on BBC1 on 31 December 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000ctfn|title = BBC One - Dame Edna Rules the Waves}}</ref> During the show, Dame Edna attempts to dispose of Madge's ashes from the porthole of her luxury yacht, The Ocean Widow, but is prevented from doing so to protect the environment. Madge's last will and testament insisted that Dame Edna take on the care of her sister Mabel, who became Dame Edna's silent sidekick, sticking labels on her celebrity guests. Mabel is portrayed by British actress Anne Rason.