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PEA GREEN BOAT by Stewart Lee Illustrated by David Waywell

Pea Green Boat

PEA GREEN BOAT by Stewart Lee Illustrated by David Waywell

Published on 3 September 2026 (Ebury Spotlight)

In Pea Green Boat, Stewart Lee and David Waywell create a darkly hilarious retelling of The Owl and the Pussy-cat in which Edward Lear’s characters are revealed to be catastrophically poorly-equipped for maritime travel.

Told through the increasingly deranged diary of the Owl, the real story is unmasked and it becomes clear that these two creatures should never have been put in a boat together.

David’s gothic-comic illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to Stewart’s bleakly funny text, bringing a psychoactive subtext to the nonsensical world of Edward Lear’s poem.

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The book is inspired by Stewart’s cult 2001 stage piece of the same name, which he is reviving in special Pea Green Boat performances across the country, each featuring a different musical guest. 

Stewart Lee, plus musicians, perform PEA GREEN BOAT by Stewart Lee

Pea Green Boat

An owl wakes up at sea in a pea green boat. It is accompanied by a cat, its natural predator.  There is some honey.  What chain of events led to this dangerous situation?

Stewart Lee performs his darkly comic tale based on Edward Lear’s ‘The Owl & The Pussy- cat’ with live improvised musical accompaniment.

These live shows mark the publication of PEA GREEN BOAT by Stewart Lee and illustrated by David Waywell, and, at Leicester Square Theatre, every ticket includes a hardback copy (RRP £16.99 Ebury) to be collected at the performance.
Copies will be available to buy at other venues.

Very funny The Guardian ★★★★

Superb Nonsense  The Scotsman ★★★★

It’s the Edward Lear / Stewart Lee Mash-Up that I’ve been waiting for!’ Harry Hill

Further dates and accompanying musicians to be announced.
Age: suitable for 16+
Running time: approx. 1 hour inc. Q&A

Pea Green Boat 2026 Live Dates

October 2026

Sunday 11th October 2026 3.30pm SOLD OUT

Pea Green Boat - Belgrade Theatre B2 , Coventry

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Stewart Lee performs his darkly comic tale based on Edward Lear’s ‘The Owl & The Pussy- cat’ with live improvised musical accompaniment (musicians to be announced).

An owl wakes up at sea in a pea green boat. It is accompanied by a cat, its natural predator. There is some honey. What chain of events led to this dangerous situation?

These live shows mark the publication of Pea Green Boat by Stewart Lee and illustrated by David Waywell, and every ticket includes a hardback copy (RRP £16.99 Ebury) to collect at the performance.

SOLD OUT


Thursday 22nd October 2026 7.30pm SOLD OUT

Pea Green Boat - Wilton's Music Hall , London

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Charlotte Keeffe, Stewart Lee, Thurston Moore and Mark Wastell, perform Pea Green Boat by Stewart Lee

An owl wakes up at sea in a pea green boat. It is accompanied by a cat, its natural predator. There is some honey. What chain of events led to this dangerous situation?

Stewart Lee performs his darkly comic tale based on Edward Lear’s ‘The Owl & The Pussy-Cat’ with an improvised soundtrack from a ludicrously overqualified trio comprising Charlotte Keeffe (Trumpet & Flugelhorn ~ Charlotte Keeffe’s RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, Sound Brush, London Jazz Composers Orchestra), Thurston Moore (Guitar – Thurston Moore Band, Sonic Youth), and Mark Wastell (Drums – Derek Bailey’s Company, David Sylvian, Maggie Nicols).

These live shows mark the publication of Pea Green Boat by Stewart Lee and illustrated by David Waywell (Ebury), and copies will be available to buy after the show.

SOLD OUT


Monday 26th October 2026 8pm

‘Indeterminacy’ & Pea Green Boat - Glass House , Newcastle Upon Tyne

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The musicians Steve Beresford (Alterations, Slits, Flying Lizards, Portsmouth Sinfonia) and Tania Chen, who’s recorded with Henry Kaiser and Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, have been performing their interpretation of the composer John Cage’s Indeterminacy piece with the comedian Stewart Lee on and off for two decades now. Steve and Tania improvise freely while Stewart reads a selection of Cage’s stories, picked randomly from a pack of 90 cue cards.

They bring the piece to The Glasshouse for North East debut performance on a double bill with Pea Green Boat, a reading by Stewart of his newly published book, a retelling of Edward Lear’s Owl & The Pussycat.

For this half of the evening, he’ll be accompanied by the multi award winning improviser Mariam Rezaei, who’s collaborated with Bill Orcuttt, Thurston Moore and Okkyung Lee, on turntables. Copies of the book, with illustrations by David Waywell, will be available to buy after the show.

Presented by Jazz North East and the Glasshouse


December 2026

Tuesday 1st December 2026 7pm SOLD OUT

Pea Green Boat - Leicester Square Theatre , London

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An owl wakes up at sea in a pea green boat. It is accompanied by a cat, its natural predator. There is some honey. What chain of events led to this dangerous situation?

Stewart Lee performs his darkly comic tale based on Edward Lear’s ‘The Owl & The Pussy-cat’ with live improvised musical accompaniment from a soon to be announced guest.

These live shows mark the publication of PEA GREEN BOAT by Stewart Lee and illustrated by David Waywell (Ebury), and copies will be available to buy after the show.

SOLD OUT


Wednesday 2nd December 2026 7pm SOLD OUT

Pea Green Boat - Leicester Square Theatre , London

MORE INFO

An owl wakes up at sea in a pea green boat. It is accompanied by a cat, its natural predator. There is some honey. What chain of events led to this dangerous situation?

Stewart Lee performs his darkly comic tale based on Edward Lear’s ‘The Owl & The Pussy-cat’ with live improvised musical accompaniment from a soon to be announced guest.

These live shows mark the publication of PEA GREEN BOAT by Stewart Lee and illustrated by David Waywell (Ebury), and copies will be available to buy after the show.

SOLD OUT


Thursday 3rd December 2026 7pm SOLD OUT

Pea Green Boat - Leicester Square Theatre , London

MORE INFO

An owl wakes up at sea in a pea green boat. It is accompanied by a cat, its natural predator. There is some honey. What chain of events led to this dangerous situation?

Stewart Lee performs his darkly comic tale based on Edward Lear’s ‘The Owl & The Pussy-cat’ with live improvised musical accompaniment from a soon to be announced guest.

These live shows mark the publication of PEA GREEN BOAT by Stewart Lee and illustrated by David Waywell (Ebury), and copies will be available to buy after the show.

SOLD OUT


February 2027

Saturday 6th February 2027 3pm

Pea Green Boat with special guests Pram - Midlands Arts Centre , Birmingham

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An owl wakes up at sea in a pea green boat. It is accompanied by a cat, its natural predator. There is some honey. What chain of events led to this dangerous situation?

Stewart Lee performs his darkly comic tale based on Edward Lear’s ‘The Owl & The Pussy-cat’ with live improvised musical accompaniment from a soon to be announced guest.

These live shows mark the publication of PEA GREEN BOAT by Stewart Lee and illustrated by David Waywell (Ebury), and copies will be available to buy after the show.


Saturday 6th February 2027 8pm

Pea Green Boat with special guests Pram - Midlands Arts Centre , Birmingham

MORE INFO

An owl wakes up at sea in a pea green boat. It is accompanied by a cat, its natural predator. There is some honey. What chain of events led to this dangerous situation?

Stewart Lee performs his darkly comic tale based on Edward Lear’s ‘The Owl & The Pussy-cat’ with live improvised musical accompaniment from a soon to be announced guest.

These live shows mark the publication of PEA GREEN BOAT by Stewart Lee and illustrated by David Waywell (Ebury), and copies will be available to buy after the show.


Stewart Lee