TV’s Frankie Boyle has declared that no-one over 40 should do stand-up, as the old comedians lose their edge and their anger. Stewart Lee is 42 and Frankie’s heartless Scottish words have made him wonder if it’s worth carrying on.
Undaunted, the furiously baffled comedian tries to win round the legendarily harsh Glasgow audience with a crowd-pleasing Mcintyre-style routine about coffee shops, but is distracted by scores of imaginary pirates; he tries to talk about every day middle aged men’s concerns, but is drawn into a forty minute rant against Top Gear and all it stands for; he attempts to find some common ground with happy childhood memories that he and the audience can share, but is instead consumed with loathing and despair as a result of a Magners’ Cider advertising campaign.
He screams from the balconies, stumbles in the aisles, and ends with a country and western song. If You Prefer A Milder Comedian Please Ask For One is a vast and all-consuming epic of stand-up comedy, exploring the absolute formal limits of the art form.
There are also some jokes.
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Fairy Pingu, Twitter
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Contrapuntal, Twitter
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Peter Ould, Twitter
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Peter Fears, Twitter
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Sweeping Curves, Twitter
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Yukio Mishima, dontstartmeoff.com
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Pudabaya, beexcellenttoeachother.com
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Tweeterkiryakou, Twitter
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Cojones2, Guardian.co.uk
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Henry Howard Fun, Twitter
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Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
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Frankie Boyle, Comedian
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Rowing Rob, Guardian.co.uk
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Aiden Hearn, Twitter
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Deepbass, Guardian.co.uk
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Lents, redandwhitekop.com
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Esme Folley, Actress, cellist, Twitter
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Maninabananasuit, Guardian.co.uk
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Tres Ryan, Twitter
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Anon, dontstartmeoff.com
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Alex Quarmby, Edfringe.com
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NevW47479, UKTV.co.uk
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Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
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Iain, eatenbymissionaries
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Richard Herring, Comedian
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Johnny Kitkat, dontstartmeoff.com
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Gmanthedemon, bbc.co.uk
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Meanstreetelite, Peoplesrepublicofcork
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Tweeter Kyriakou, Twitter
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BBC iPlayer edition of discussion of Stewart Lee on A Good Read
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Dahoum, Guardian.co.uk
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Anon, BBC Complaints Log
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A D Ward, Twitter
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John Robins, Comedian
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General Lurko 36, Guardian.co.uk
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Zombie Hamster, Twitter
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Liam Travitt, Twitter
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Brendon, Vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk
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Carla, St Albans, Dailymail.co.uk
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Nicetime, Guardian.co.uk
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Lee Mack, Mack The Life, 2012
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Karen Laidlaw, Edfringe. com.
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Aaron, comedy.co.uk
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Pirate Crocodile, Twitter
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Brighton Argus
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Rudeness, Youtube
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Shit Crit, Twitter
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Pudabaya, Twitter
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Sidsings000, Youtube
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Genghis McKahn, Guardian.co.uk
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Anonymous, don'tstartmeoff.com
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98rosjon, Twitter
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Mini-x2, readytogo.net
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Guest, Dontstartmeoff.com
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Bosco239, youtube
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Hiewy, Youtube
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Len Firewood, Twitter
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Neva2busy, dontstartmeoff.com
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Etienne, Chortle.com
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Alwyn, Digiguide.tv
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Guest1001, Youtube
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Chez, Chortle.com
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GRTak, finalgear.com
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12dgdgdgdgdgdg, Youtube
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Rubyshoes, Twitter
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James Dellingpole, Daily Telegraph