“In contrast with (my) generation, which had spent most of its time online learning to code so that it could add crude butterfly animations to the backgrounds of its weblogs, the generation immediately following had spent most of its time online making incredibly bigoted jokes in order to laugh at the idiots who were stupid enough to think that they meant it. Except that after a while they did mean it, and then somehow at the end of it they were white supremacists. Was this always how it happened?”
Patricia Lockwood, London Review of Books, Feb 2019

1) NEW SHOW 2019/20 – SNOWFLAKE/TORNADO

I’m doing a new stand-up show for the back end of 2019 and the first half of 2020. National dates from Feb 2020 will be announced later in the year, but I am going to do less than last time, but with longer runs in bigger rooms to hit the same demand, sadly, as the length of the last run nearly killed me, as you can see from the BBC film of the show.
he initial London dates will be work in progress, with a free DVD of CONTENT PROVIDER for all ticket holders and fans of obsolete physical media. Tons of fun!
I will film this show/these shows in the Summer of 2020 for offloading to whatever content platforms are still viable at that stage in late capitalism’s technologically-driven cultural decline.

David Johnson & John Mackay in association with Debi Allen/Curtis Brown present
STEWART LEE – SNOWFLAKE/TORNADO.

Double-bill of two new 60-ish minute sets, back to back nightly from “the world’s greatest living stand-up” (Times).

Tornado questions a shipwrecked Stew’s position in the comedy marketplace after Netflix mistakenly lists his show as “reports of sharks falling from the skies are on the rise again. Nobody on the Eastern Seaboard is safe.” What is anything? Is it this?
And Snowflake questions our worth in a collapsing society which no longer shares the liberal values we have for so long been keen to be seen to espouse, in a fairy-tale landscape of winter wonder.  Tons of fun!

SNOWFLAKE/TORNADO Work-in-Progress and DVD LAUNCH
Leicester Square Theatre, London.
A run of work-in-progress gigs to celebrate the DVD launch of his celebrated last live show CONTENT PROVIDER.
Each ticket will include a very special limited edition copy of the new DVD, exclusively available to bookers of this live show.
Stewart will be signing copies after the show.

Sept 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th – 7pm start
Oct 1st , 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th Oct – – 8.45pm start
2 hrs including interval
£26.50 including DVD of Content Provider (RRP £19.95)

Stewart Lee – Snowflake/Tornado.
Leicester Square Theatre, London.

October – December 2019
Tues 29th October 8.45pm – Sat Dec 14th
No Mondays, No Sundays, & not Sat Nov 30th

January 2020
Thurs 2nd Jan 8.45pm – Sat 25th Jan
No Mondays, No Sundays, & not Jan 9th
8.45 pm Stewart on stage
2 hrs + interval

Tues, Weds, Thurs £27.50
Friday & Saturday£29.50

All shows are 14+ apparently. If you are under 14 you are too immature to enjoy my swearing and farts.

SEPTEMBER 2019

Tuesday 24th – WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free ‘Content Provider’ DVD – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm – TICKETS
Wednesday 25th – WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free ‘Content Provider’ DVD – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm – TICKETS
Thursday 26th – WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free ‘Content Provider’ DVD – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm – TICKETS
Friday 27th – WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free ‘Content Provider’ DVD – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm – TICKETS
Saturday 28th – WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free ‘Content Provider’ DVD – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm – TICKETS

OCTOBER 2019

Tuesday 1st – WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free ‘Content Provider’ DVD – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Wednesday 2nd – WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free ‘Content Provider’ DVD – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Thursday 3rd – WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free ‘Content Provider’ DVD – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Friday 4th – WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free ‘Content Provider’ DVD – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Saturday 5th – WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free ‘Content Provider’ DVD – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS

OCTOBER 2019

Tuesday 29th – SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Wednesday 30th – SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Thursday 31st – SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS

NOVEMBER 2019

Friday 1st SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Saturday 2nd SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Tuesday 5th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Wednesday 6th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Thursday 7th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Friday 8th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Saturday 9th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Tuesday 12th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Wednesday 13th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Thursday 14th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Friday 15th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Saturday 16th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Tuesday 19th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Wednesday 20th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Thursday 21st SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Friday 22nd SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Saturday 23rd SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Tuesday 26th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Wednesday 27th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Thursday 28th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Friday 29th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS

DECEMBER 2019

Tuesday 3rd SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Wednesday 4th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Thursday 5th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Friday 6th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Saturday 7th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS

Tuesday 10th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Wednesday 11th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Thursday 12th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Friday 13th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Saturday 14th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS

JANUARY 2020

Thursday 2nd SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Friday 3rd SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Saturday 4th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS

Tuesday 7th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Wednesday 8th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Friday 10th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Saturday 11th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS

Tuesday 14th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Wednesday 15th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Thursday 16th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Friday 17th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Saturday 18th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS

Tuesday 21st SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Wednesday 22nd SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Thursday 23rd SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Friday 24th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS
Saturday 25th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO – Leicester Square Theatre, London – 8.45pm – TICKETS

“There’s no-one else to touch him” Mark Wareham, Mail On Sunday *****

“Lee remains one of the best stand-ups in the country” ***** Metro

“The world’s best living stand-up comedian” Dominic Maxwell, The Times

“He makes stand-up almost a moral pursuit, … that makes the usual (and more popular) stand-ups seem crude and obvious.” Alan Bennet, London Review Of Books.

“Proper, vicious prejudice – a self-proclaimed inhabitant of the moral high ground” Sarah Vine, Daily Mail

“A pot-bellied Bernard Manning for snowflakes” Tony Parsons, The Sun

“Woke, enlightened, professionally sensitive, BBC-approved comedian who can be guaranteed to dress to the left. The rancid tip of a cesspit.” – Tony Parsons, GQ

“If I could bring one extinct thing back to life it would be Stewart Lee’s sense of humour.” Frankie Boyle, The Guardian

“The opposite of what really good comedy should be” Toby Young, Radio 4

“Truly, he is the Oscar Wilde of our times” – Gary Bushell, The Daily Star

NB – I DID 5 MONTHS IN TOTAL AT LST OF CONTENT PROVIDER BETWEEN 2016-2018, AND THEN 4 ROYAL FEST HALLS AND THEY ALL SOLD OUT.
ONCE THESE DATES ARE DONE I AM NOT COMING BACK FOR MORE THIS TIME SO GET TICKETS IF YOU WANT THEM.

2) SNOWFLAKE/TORNADO 2020 TOUR

Currently confirmed / onsale:

Jan / Feb 2020

Wednesday 29th January 2020 – Saturday 1st February 2020 – Snowflake / Tornado, Nottingham Playhouse. TICKETS HERE

Tuesday 18th – Friday 21st February 2020 – Snowflake / Tornado, Brighton Dome. ON SALE SOON.

Monday 24th – Saturday 29th February 2020 – Snowflake / Tornado, Oxford Playhouse. ON SALE SOON.

March 2020

Tuesday 17th March 2020 – Snowflake / Tornado, Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. ON SALE SOON.

Friday 27th / Saturday 28th March 2020 – Snowflake / Tornado, Theatre Royal, Newcastle. ON SALE SOON.

April / May 2020

Wednesday 29th April 2020 – Saturday 2nd May 2020 – Snowflake / Tornado, Salford Lowry. TICKETS HERE

More national dates are currently being added & confirmed & will be announced soon. They will be listed on the Live Dates page of the website & via this newsletter as they come in.

3) SNOWFLAKE/TORNADO WORK IN PROGRESSES

I am doing a headline half-hour on bill with John Kearns and Rosie Jones and more at Bristol Comedy Garden, July 7th. https://www.bristolcomedygarden.co.uk/line-up/sunday-late/

Soho Theatre, various dates from 10th June to 4th July
https://sohotheatre.com/shows/stewart-lee-double-work-in-progress/ –

This is now sold out.

4) EDINBURGH FRINGE

This is now all sold out.

5) CONTENT PROVIDER DVD

CONTENT PROVIDER has dropped off the BBC I-player.
I know they are allowed to put it on there three more times, but they do tend to need a nudge. Perhaps they will show it again. Who knows?
All four series of COMEDY VEHICLE are still up on there anyway. See how the world has changed for the worse in a decade. How quaint the liberal’s manageable dilemmas of 2013 seem now.
The third, and perhaps best, series of COMEDY VEHICLE seems to be on Netflix in the UK and, I think, the US.
It seems you can also stream CARPET REMNANT WORLD and the first 3 series of COMEDY VEHICLE on Amazon, here and I think in the US. Beats me! And, as I said above, CONTENT PROVIDER will be available as an Old Skool physical media DVD in the Autumn.
Tons of fun!

6) oxide ghosts/wok in progress

Fire Records, Films and Comedy present: ONE NIGHT ON EARTH.
Stewart Lee Upfront Work-In-Progress Show/ Oxide Ghosts: The Brass Eye Tapes Film Screening presented by Michael Cumming.

https://earthackney.seetickets.com/event/stewart-lee-oxide-ghosts-the-brass-eye-tapes/earth-theatre/1367088

A special night for comedy connoisseurs. Earth, Hackney, Friday 14th June. Doors 7pm. Show 8-11pm. Bar until 2am.

This is now sold out.

Extra show Monday Sept 16th

https://earthackney.seetickets.com/event/stewart-lee-oxide-ghosts-the-brass-eye-tapes/earth-theatre-stoke-newington/1382942

7) King Rocker Doc

Michael Cumming (Brass Eye), James Nicholls (Fire films) and I are now 1/3rd of the way through filming and editing and are looking for donations to complete the film below, which is about Birmingham post-punk survivors The Nightingales. Everyone who donates, no matter how big or how small*, will be featured in the end credits

*(I think this sentence, written by James from Fire, relates to the size of the donation, not the donor.)

https://www.kingrockerfilm.com/

8) Sleaford Mods

Sleaford Mods are playing the Hammersmith Apollo, London on Friday 15th November 2019.

I am bottom of the bill supporting them on a line-up that also includes Viagra Boys and Horse Meat Disco (DJ Set).

You can get tickets here.

9) Meanwhile, I Arrogantly Recommend Guided by Voices, Russ Tolman, Flamin’ Groovies, Topic Records, Stereolab, Catenary Wires, Meat Puppets, Acid Mothers Temple, Damo Suzuki, Fred Frith, Ben Moor & Jo Neary

The greatest American rock band of all time GUIDED BY VOICES play the UK for the first tome in nearly 2 decades, with two now sold out dates at London’s Village Underground 5th and 6th June.

Returning Paisley Underground pioneer and former True West guitaruist and songwriter RUSS TOLMAN has 4 UK dates. June 4th – Sheffield Greystones, 5th – Manchester Night People, 6th – Whitney Fat Lil’s, 7th – London Seabright Arms.

‘70s Byrds/Stones inheritors The Flamin’ Groovies, reunited with original vocalist Ray Looney, tour the UK. June 4th – Manchester Club Academy, 5th – Glasgow Oran Mor, 6th – Newcastle Cluny, 7th – London Under The Bridge, 8th – Southend Chinnerys.

There’s a celebration of 80 years of folk indie Topic Records at The Barbican on June 7th. Eliza Carthy, Martin Carthy, Lisa Knapp, Sam Lee, Alasdair Roberts, Olivia Chaney, Spiro, Chris Wood, Marry Waterson, Bernard Butler. TICKETS

Live shows from Godfathers of Indie, The Catenary Wires, fronted by Amelia Fletcher, OBE. June 7th – Welwyn Garden City Green Room, 14th – London St Pancras Old Church; July 12th – Oxford Wheatsheaf, 17th – Cambridge Portland Arms, 19th – Mcr Gullivers, 20th – Newcastle Cumberland Arms, 26th – 28th Indietracks Ripley.

Lysergic desert rock legends The Meat Puppets return. 7 June – Empire / Belfast, N. Ireland [TICKETS] 8 June – Dolan’s Warehouse / Limerick, Ireland [TICKETS] 9 June – Whelan’s / Dublin, Ireland [TICKETS] 10 June – Brudenell Social Club / Leeds, England [TICKETS] 11 June – Rebellion / Manchester, England [TICKETS]

Japanese Freak Folks Acid Mothers Temple tour the UK again. – 26th Jun. (wed) @ Bethnal Green Working Mens Club – London, 27th Jun. (thu) @ Exeter Phoenix – Auditorium, 28th Jun. (fri) @ “Glastonbury Festival 2019”, 28th Jun. (fri) @ Rough Trade Bristol – Bristol, 29th Jun. (sat) @ The Portland Arms – Cambridge, 30th Jun. (sun) @ Cafe Oto – London (matinee)

More endless tour dates from Can frontman Damo Suzuki June 26: London, Jazz Cafe, June 27: Brighton, The Hope and Ruin, June 28: Hastings, The Printworks

70th birthday 3 day residency for Fred Frith of Henry Cow at London’s Café Oto, June 28th – 30th. Frith’s solo guitar sets were, oddly, a big influence on my stand-up when I started out. TICKETS

Polymath writer and performance artist Ben Moor has a bunch of stuff happening. He has written a new show BOOKTALKBOOKTALKBOOK, co-starring Fringe comedy regular Jo Neary. There are a number of upcoming chances to catch this weird, funny, wise, mind-twisty, silly show about two authors at a bookreading. It concerns A.I., washing-up techniques, card tricks, bad novels, the love of books, and how long we should give people who we think might be running late.

Saturday 8th June 2019, 7.00pm Stoke Newington Literary Festival Ben is super-excited to be part of an amazing line-up here – there’s a ton of great people talking about their for real books over the weekend in London’s N16. Just get on a 73 bus! TICKETS

Sunday 8th July 2019 – Also Festival Jo is also performing her wonderful show Wife on Earth at this boutique festival in the Warwickshire countryside. There’s also an array of brilliant speakers, music and activities.

Saturday 13th July 2019, 4.00pm – The Idler Festival Ben premiered BTBTB at the Idler Academy at last year’s Port Eliot Festival. There’s another chance to catch Wife on Earth at The Idler magazine’s 2nd annual weekend of delights and surprises. At Fenton House in Hampstead.

Friday 26th July 2019 WOMAD Festival And finally (for now) the show is part of the World of Words stage at this awesome celebration of our planet’s excellent human-produced sounds and ideas. Ben had the best time here last year, and says it’s great to be returning.

Ben’s last show, PRONOUN TROUBLE, is also on again. It concerns The Hunting Trilogy, a series of cartoons directed by Chuck Jones, and the philosophical questions about time, friendship and uncertainty it raises. It also looks at a few cool things from the real world, and involves an ever-expanding reading list of book recommendations. Plus there are badges.

Thursday 13th & Friday 14th June 2019, 7.30pm – Etcetera Theatre As part of a Double Bill with the excellent Izzy Mant, and what Ben says is “her deeply funny and wonderfully frank examination of courtesy in a rude world”, Polite Club. Izzy’s show begins at 9.00pm. TICKETS

Pronoun Trouble is also available as a DOWNLOAD from GoFasterStripe.

10) NON-EVENT OF THE MONTH

An Evening With Michael Gove

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-spectator-presents-michael-gove-in-conversation-with-fraser-nelson-tickets-60405937786

Michael Gove in conversation with Fraser Nelson

Will Brexit be delivered?
Can the government survive – or is a Corbyn victory inevitable?
Does Michael Gove, tipped by some as a future Conservative leader, have a plan to turn things around?
Book now to avoid disappointment.

Wed, 5 June 2019, 19:00 – 20:30 BST, Emmanuel Centre, 9-23 Marsham Street London  SW1P 3DW