In contract law, "force majeure" refers to events that are beyond any human control and therefore essentially free the parties to the contract from liability or obligation should a force majeure event occur. So it's probably fitting that this is the title British comedian (and self-described "action transvestite") Eddie Izzard has given his new two-hour-plus (with intermission) show that pulled into town over the weekend. Because the man is a force of nature. Like an earthquake or tornado or Kardashian, you never know when or where it will turn up, or what havoc it will wreak. Izzard roams wildly through an incredible range of subjects—English history, his adventures in shoplifting, the Protestant Reformation, the nature of God—leaving in his wake the roaring laughter of audiences who clearly appreciate his zig-zagging route through the ridiculousness of existence.

"I'm just reporting back from the front lines," Izzard says, early in the evening. And the front lines are pretty much everywhere. In reference to his style of comedy, he told the audience at the Golden Gate Theater he "noticed nobody was talking about everything—so I did that!"

For a significant portion of the first half of the show—and it is a show, an actual piece of theater, not just a stand-up routine—Izzard takes us on an inspired journey (with many detours, natch) through the succession of British kings, the English Civil War, Charles I's fashion choices, Martin Luther's posting of his 95 theses (hampered, apparently, by a sudden windstorm), like a crazed, but hysterically funny, Oxford don on acid. His Monty Python influences come roaring through, not just in the interest in history and the peculiarities of growing up and being British, but in his inspired absurdity. All through the evening, odd examples and wacky metaphors pepper his observations (my favorite being someone looking "like two weasels covered in gravy, nailed to the back of a tractor.").

Izzard has been compared by many to Robin Williams, and aptly so, for he shares much of the manic energy and cockeyed craziness of Williams, as well as bringing a distinct (and distinctly odd) point of view to his comedy. Izzard isn't for everyone. If you're looking for a conventional, observational brand of humor that doesn't challenge your intellect or cultural vocabulary, walk on by. But if you enjoy testing your attention and your ability to follow a meandering path, trusting that both the journey and the destination will be both pleasurable and challenging, sign yourself up. Oh, and brush up on your French and German, as a handful of jokes are delivered in those languages, as well. (In the fall, Izzard embarks on a tour of France and Belgium, which he will perform "tout en français."—entirely in French.)

There are few performers working who can blend theatricality (the lights, the physicality, the painted nails!) and stand-up comedy the way Izzard can. His callback in the second act to his first act recitation of the broad usefulness of the French phrase "et voila!" is comic perfection, as is his explanation for why Buddha statues in India depict a lean Siddhartha Gautama, but those in China have him more on the portly side of the scale.

If Izzard is coming to a theater near you (he'll be in San Jose, Seattle, Portland and Boise over the next week or so, and just added a show at Napa's Uptown Theater on September 11), and you're up to the challenge he sets, you owe it to yourself to expose yourself to the power of his "force majeure."

Eddie Izzard: Force Majeure appeared at the Golden Gate Theatre June 18-20, 2015. For more information on the tour, visit eddieizzard.com/gigs. Tickets are also available for some shows at www.ticketmaster.com.

Cheers - and be sure to Check the lineup of great shows this season in the San Francisco area

- Patrick Thomas