In a new interview on WalesOnline, Eddie Izzard, in addition to asking us in the States to please believe that he’s a transvestite – despite his many manly roles in Hollywood the last few years – defends his decision to perform stand-up comedy in large arenas, as opposed to more intimate venues. Many comedy purists believe that stand-up comedy should always be presented in a room with no more than 300 to 350 seats, with excellent sight lines all around and where you can see the beads of sweat form on the comics brows.

Others, however, feel that there’s nothing wrong with “rock ‘n roll” comedy, wherein a comedian has a big enough audience to fill arenas, where, there’s a good chance a large percentage of the crowd will be watching most of the show on big screens flanking a giant stage, not unlike what you might see at a Dane Cook or Larry the Cable Guy show.

Izzard defends arena comedy thusly:

Six years ago, I did the first arena tour of the UK and that was a little scary because I didn’t know what I would be dealing with. People will say it’s not intimate, but … if people don’t want to watch it there, then don’t watch it there. But I definitely think it’s a good thing. It makes it more of an event. And why should rock and roll get all the arena shows? If you think of the first ever arena gig, when The Beatles did Shea Stadium in 1965, it was a crap gig. Great band, great event but a crap gig because you couldn’t hear anything.

People have had to learn how to play stadium gigs in music. And comedy has to go through the same thing, we just have to work out how to play arenas. No-one bats an eyelid when bands play arenas and if it’s a good thing for bands it’s a good thing for comedy.

So what do you think? Can stand-up comedy be performed effectively at an arena? Have you ever been to an arena comedy show? Did it suck? Was it awesome? Please share all of your experiences in the comments section.