--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Dame Edna is that rarest sighting in our…" description: "\"Dame Edna is that rarest sighting in our time of the absolute comic, an inspired personification of caprice whose comedy answered the primal call to ta..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/john-lahr-15002_audience_dame-edna-is-that-rarest-sighting-in-our_407953.png" --- # Dame Edna is that rarest sighting in our time of the… ![“Dame Edna is that rarest sighting in our time of the absolute comic, an inspired personification of caprice whose comedy answered the primal call to take the audience for a tumble.” quote by John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/john-lahr-15002_audience_dame-edna-is-that-rarest-sighting-in-our_407953.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/john-lahr-15002_audience_dame-edna-is-that-rarest-sighting-in-our_407953.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/john-lahr-15002_audience_dame-edna-is-that-rarest-sighting-in-our_407953.png) > “Dame Edna is that rarest sighting in our time of the absolute comic, an inspired personification of caprice whose comedy answered the primal call to take the audience for a tumble.” [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dame Edna embodies whimsical chaos that challenges conventional comedy, inviting audiences to embrace absurdity. **In simple terms:** She uses wild humor to break norms. Key Takeaway Embrace playful absurdity in performance. Themes comedy absurdity performance culture Mood playful provocative Type theatrical critical When to use this quote - theatre reviews - stand‑up comedy - cultural critique Key Concepts satire persona audience engagement Questions to Reflect On - What makes absurd comedy resonate? - How does persona affect audience expectations? A Different Perspective Her style may alienate those preferring subtle humor. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Caprice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caprice/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Personification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personification/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [And there's no way I'm going to do Dame Edna.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-richardson/and-there-s-no-way-i-m-going-to-do-dame-edna/) [Miranda Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-richardson/) > [Every student of comedy should see Dame Edna at least twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/every-student-of-comedy-should-see-dame-edna-at-least-twice/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [Why did Barry Humphries play Dame Edna for so many years? Why is Steve Coogan still doing Alan Partridge? Because there are just one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kayvan-novak/why-did-barry-humphries-play-dame-edna-for-so-many-years-why-is-steve/) [Kayvan Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kayvan-novak/) > [Oddly enough, Dame Edna is not interested in show business. Her friends in Los Angeles are mostly in the world of petroleum. She used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-humphries/oddly-enough-dame-edna-is-not-interested-in-show-business-her-friends/) [Barry Humphries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-humphries/) > [I'll never forget my interview with Barry Humphries - one of the oddest I've ever done. He insisted that for half the time he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/i-ll-never-forget-my-interview-with-barry-humphries-one-of-the-oddest/) [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) > [“By December an elastic skin of ice reached out hundreds of miles into the sea, rolling with every wave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-chancellor/by-december-an-elastic-skin-of-ice-reached-out-hundreds-of-miles-into/) Will Chancellor > [I saw sensuality as sacred, indeed the only sacredness, I saw woman and her beauty as divine since her calling is the most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopold-von-sacher-masoch/i-saw-sensuality-as-sacred-indeed-the-only-sacredness-i-saw-woman-and/) [Leopold von Sacher-Masoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leopold-von-sacher-masoch/) > [To later Romans Ennius was the personification of the spirit of early Rome; by them he was called "The Father of Roman Poetry." We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/to-later-romans-ennius-was-the-personification-of-the-spirit-of-early/) [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) > [“It is my conviction that, with the spread of true scientific culture, whatever may be the medium, historical, philological, philosophical, or physical, through which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/it-is-my-conviction-that-with-the-spread-of-true-scientific-culture/) [Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/) > [“Your Mom's Car. Think about that. Try to wrap your brain around the supernatural and spiritual implications that the name bears down you. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/your-mom-s-car-think-about-that-try-to-wrap-your-brain-around-the/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [ In Stalin each \[Soviet bureaucrat\] easily finds himself. 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Possibly to some mysterious personification of one's own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beatrice-webb/it-would-be-curious-to-discover-who-it-is-to-whom-one-writes-in-a/) [Beatrice Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beatrice-webb/) > [Monarchs not only fashion their age, but are fashioned by it, so that they can become a sort of personification of the age. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-figes/monarchs-not-only-fashion-their-age-but-are-fashioned-by-it-so-that/) [Eva Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-figes/) > [Few things are more important at this time in history than for religious people to listen to the New Atheists as if these unbelievers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dowd/few-things-are-more-important-at-this-time-in-history-than-for/) [Michael Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dowd/) ## More by John Lahr > [The British playwright Nina Raine is one of her generation's most promising talents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lahr/the-british-playwright-nina-raine-is-one-of-her-generation-s-most/) [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) > [Broadway shows in New York draw two times the attendance of all New York sports teams put together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lahr/broadway-shows-in-new-york-draw-two-times-the-attendance-of-all-new/) [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) > [The pigeons are shitting on George M. 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Naturally, this doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lahr/i-go-to-the-theatre-expecting-to-have-a-good-time-i-want-each-play/) [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) > [We were postwar middle-class white kids living in the slipstream of the greatest per-capita rise in income in the history of Western civilization; we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lahr/we-were-postwar-middle-class-white-kids-living-in-the-slipstream-of/) [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) > [Momentum was part of the exhilaration and the exhaustion of the twentieth century which Coward decoded for the British but borrowed wholesale from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lahr/momentum-was-part-of-the-exhilaration-and-the-exhaustion-of-the/) [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) > [Death of a Salesman' is a brilliant taxonomy of the spiritual atrophy of mid-twentieth-century white America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lahr/death-of-a-salesman-is-a-brilliant-taxonomy-of-the-spiritual-atrophy/) [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) > [I detest literature. I abominate the theatre. I have a horror of culture. I am only interested in magic!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lahr/i-detest-literature-i-abominate-the-theatre-i-have-a-horror-of/) [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) > [Entertainment is not politically neutral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lahr/entertainment-is-not-politically-neutral/) [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) > [In 1957, 'West Side Story' had introduced the musical to the reckless dark side of teen-age life; 'Bye Bye Birdie,' set in Sweet Apple,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lahr/in-1957-west-side-story-had-introduced-the-musical-to-the-reckless/) [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) > [The New Yorker's' drama critics have always had a comparable authority because, for the most part, the magazine made it a practice to employ…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lahr/the-new-yorker-s-drama-critics-have-always-had-a-comparable-authority/) [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) > [I know in an existential sense that life can change on a dime ... something has instantly and inexorably changed in American life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lahr/i-know-in-an-existential-sense-that-life-can-change-on-a-dime/) [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) > [Writers don't always know what they mean - that's why they write. Their work stands in for them. On the page, the reader meets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lahr/writers-don-t-always-know-what-they-mean-that-s-why-they-write-their/) [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) > [Tony Awards boost Broadway attendance and sell the shows on the road. They're the sugar to swat the fly. If you needed more explanation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lahr/tony-awards-boost-broadway-attendance-and-sell-the-shows-on-the-road/) [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) > [Criticism is a life without risk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lahr/criticism-is-a-life-without-risk/) [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) [Explore all 44 John Lahr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) ## More Audience quotes > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's the adrenaline rush you only get from being in front of an audience. It's addictive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-saadiq/it-s-the-adrenaline-rush-you-only-get-from-being-in-front-of-an/) [Raphael Saadiq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-saadiq/) > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [The liveness of theater, and the excitement of experiencing it alongside an audience, is something you can't get at home. That makes the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-blaemire/the-liveness-of-theater-and-the-excitement-of-experiencing-it/) [Nick Blaemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-blaemire/) > [One of the things that touches me most when I play for an audience is that although we may be unable to communicate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/one-of-the-things-that-touches-me-most-when-i-play-for-an-audience-is/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [“During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/during-the-first-few-minutes-of-your-presentation-your-job-is-to/) [Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. 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