REVENGE, they say, is a dish best served cold. I have never seen a more cold, calculated, utterly fearless and totally brilliant in-show riposte to anything than the last 25 minutes of Stewart Lee’s set. Lee, having spent much of the year being threatened with everything from lawsuits to death; having seen any commercial viability of the brilliant Jerry Springer: the Opera destroyed by fundamentalist Christianity, red in tooth and claw; and having been comprehensively publicly demonised, is embracing that demon for one breathtaking half hour.
It is like watching Bruce Banner become the Incredible Hulk.
But quietly. With focus.
The material is ruthlessly, fabulously and cleverly blasphemous to a height wholly unscaled and a depth completely unplumbed.
It is exhilaratingly and wonderfully appalling. Lee is like an angry young man trapped in the body of a mature and hugely intelligent one.
That is a killer combination. He then wraps it up by brilliantly and irrefutably justifying everything he has just said. And adds a little belly-laugh as a coda. This is comedy as an ideologically lethal weapon, in the hands of a crack shot. That’s not all you get in the Belly of the Beast (as it were).
There is some funny, jolly stuff about the IRA, and charming personal anecdotes about Lee’s endoscopy. Lee is one of the finest exponents of the art of analysis as a comedic tool: analysis of what people say, of what he himself says, and of what we in the audience do; a kind of comedic reductio ad absurdum.
Just so that Jesus doesn’t feel picked on, Lee expertly puts the pan into deadpan on the subjects of Dan Brown, Joe Pasquale, the Americans in Iraq, Catholicism and Jimmy Carr. Lee is a comedy technician, delivering his material with Pinteresque pauses that a Christian fundamentalist could get three death threats into, and using the power of repetition to almost agonising effect. All this comes from a man who radiates “decent bloke” like the glow round the manger on a Christmas card.
This is a once-in-a-career show. See it, for Christ’s sake.
Yukio Mishima, dontstartmeoff.com
Yukio Mishima, dontstartmeoff.com
GRTak, finalgear.com
GRTak, finalgear.com
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Horatio Melvin, Twitter
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Clampdown59, Twitter.
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Len Firewood, Twitter
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Maninabananasuit, Guardian.co.uk
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Shane, Beverley, Dailymail.co.uk
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Peter Ould, Twitter
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Fowkes81, Twitter
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Iain, eatenbymissionaries
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A D Ward, Twitter
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Anon, dontstartmeoff.com
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Dick Socrates, Twitter
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General Lurko 36, Guardian.co.uk
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Microcuts 22, Twitter
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Gwaites, Digitalspy
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Lancethrustworthy, Youtube
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Meanstreetelite, Peoplesrepublicofcork
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Rubyshoes, Twitter
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Gmanthedemon, bbc.co.uk
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Ishamayura Byrd, Twitter
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Anon, BBC Complaints Log
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Bosco239, youtube
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Alex Quarmby, Edfringe.com
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Liam Travitt, Twitter
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Brighton Argus
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Lents, redandwhitekop.com
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Bobby Bhoy, Twitter
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Pirate Crocodile, Twitter
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Tweeterkiryakou, Twitter
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Aiden Hearn, Twitter
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Esme Folley, Actress, cellist, Twitter
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Wharto15, Twitter
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Kozzy06, Youtube
12dgdgdgdgdgdg, Youtube
12dgdgdgdgdgdg, Youtube
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Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph
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Lucinda Locketts, Twitter
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Dahoum, Guardian.co.uk
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Gabrielle, Chortle.com
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Slothy Matt, Twitter
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Rudeness, Youtube
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Z-factor, Twitter.
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James Dellingpole, Daily Telegraph
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World Without End, Twitter
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Pudabaya, Twitter
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Sam Rooney, Youtube
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Anonymous, don'tstartmeoff.com
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Someoneyoudon'tknow, Chortle.com
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Rowing Rob, Guardian.co.uk
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Fairy Pingu, Twitter
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Guest, Dontstartmeoff.com
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Neva2busy, dontstartmeoff.com
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DVDhth's grandparents, Twitter
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Richard Herring, Comedian
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Anonymous, The Northfield Patriot
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Sweeping Curves, Twitter
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Pudabaya, beexcellenttoeachother.com
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Visualiser1, Twitter
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Cojones2, Guardian.co.uk
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Chez, Chortle.com
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Tres Ryan, Twitter
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Tokyofist, Youtube
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Lee Mack, Mack The Life, 2012
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Alwyn, Digiguide.tv
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Joe, Independent.co.uk
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Mini-x2, readytogo.net
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Carcrazychica, Youtube
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Coxy, Dontstartmeoff.com
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Meninblack, Twitter
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Foxfoxton, Youtube
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Dave Wilson, Chortle.com
Neolab, Guardian.co.uk
Neolab, Guardian.co.uk
Birmingham Sunday Mercury
Birmingham Sunday Mercury
FBC, finalgear.com
FBC, finalgear.com
Brendon, Vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk
Brendon, Vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk
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Stuart, Chortle
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Deepbass, Guardian.co.uk
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Johnny Kitkat, dontstartmeoff.com
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Guest1001, Youtube
BBC iPlayer edition of discussion of Stewart Lee on A Good Read
BBC iPlayer edition of discussion of Stewart Lee on A Good Read
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98rosjon, Twitter
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Al Murray, Comedian
Genghis McKahn, Guardian.co.uk
Genghis McKahn, Guardian.co.uk
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Leach Juice, Twitter
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Tin Frog, Twitter
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Anon, westhamonline.com
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Carla, St Albans, Dailymail.co.uk
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Tweeter Kyriakou, Twitter
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Borathigh5, Youtube
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Danazawa, Youtube
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Peter Fears, Twitter
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Mearecate, Youtube
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Stokeylitfest, Twitter
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Aaron, comedy.co.uk
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Syhr, breakbeat.co.uk
NevW47479, UKTV.co.uk
NevW47479, UKTV.co.uk
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Spanner, dontstartmeoff.com
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Etienne, Chortle.com
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Contrapuntal, Twitter
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Mpf1947, Youtube
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Karen Laidlaw, Edfringe. com.
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Robert Gavin, Twitter
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Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
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Joycey, readytogo.net
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Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
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Funday’schild, youtube.
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Shit Crit, Twitter
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Sidsings000, Youtube
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Anamatronix, Youtube
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Idrie, Youtube
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Pnethor, pne-online.com
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Frankie Boyle, Comedian
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Mrdavisn01, Twitter
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Hiewy, Youtube
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Lenny Darksphere, Twitter
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Zombie Hamster, Twitter
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Henry Howard Fun, Twitter
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John Robins, Comedian
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Emilyistrendy, Youtube
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Jamespearse, Twitter
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Whoiscuriousgeorge, Youtube
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Jackmumf, Twitter
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Secretdeveloper, Youtube
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Nicetime, Guardian.co.uk
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Peter Ould, Youtube
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Keilloh, Twitter
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Cabluigi, Guardian.co.uk
Joskins, Leeds Music Forum
Joskins, Leeds Music Forum
Cyberbloke, Twitter
Cyberbloke, Twitter