Stewart Lee is back…although it probably seems like he’s hardly been away.
The prolific stand-up comedian, writer, and documentary maker (to name just some of the strings to his bow) is this week bringing his latest show Basic Lee to the Oxford Playhouse – the theatre where he is also a patron.
It comes less than a year since his last visit, for the Snowflake/Tornado tour, and the city is again being treated to a week of shows at the Beaumont Street venue, with Lee shunning shorter runs at larger theatres for a cosier and friendlier atmosphere.
“The tickets would be more expensive everywhere else. They will fall into the hands of touts who will charge more for them, and the show will not be as good in the big venue,” explains Lee.
“So it is more fun to do a better show in a more cost-effective way for a longer run at The Playhouse, which is a great experience and the staff are nice.
“Also, I like the city so I am happy to be here for a week and will wander about looking at things. I was a student here. Sometimes the memories are bittersweet, but I like the familiarity. I hope the weather is cold.”
Luckily, the St Edmund Hall graduate (and Honorary Fellow) has a few things lined up to keep him occupied when he is not on the stage during his Oxford run – some highbrow, others less so.
“I will go to all the galleries and museums, walk over Port Meadow and go up Cowley Road to Truck records. I will try to get into various colleges to see various stained glass windows and art works, which they get tax relief on, but it isn’t always possible.
“I will go and look at as many churches as possible and treat myself to a street kebab one night, probably from one of the vans by the Ashmolean Museum. If I can get a lift, I will go to The Rollright Stones and have a megalithic day out.”
After a decade of ground-breaking, high concept shows involving overarching interlinked narratives, big sets and comedy props, Lee enters the post-pandemic era in streamlined solo stand-up mode. Billed as ‘one man, one microphone, and one microphone in the wings in case the one on stage breaks’, Basic Lee represents a back-to-basics approach to stand-up.
“It’s not really possible to keep a show on the road for 18 months at the moment if it’s too tied into the politics of now, as it is so volatile. I started writing this show in August and I am already on the third government of its run,” Lee admits.
“Also, the last tour had a big set with moving parts, but it all had to go into storage for two years because of Covid, so I don’t want to attach the new show to a big concept like that. I wanted to allow more room for improvisation and looseness without being locked into such a tight structure.”
The Basic Lee UK tour looks like a gruelling schedule for a man who is, by his own admission, not at the peak of fitness.
More than 30 years of stand-up comedy has left him ‘bald, grey, fat, deaf, with high blood pressure, and only able to exercise while sitting down’. So what drives him on?
“Well, I try to meet the demand without diluting the show by playing big, horrible places. There’s about 250,000 people nationwide that want to see me and I try to break it down into manageable sized rooms, where you can still get a real vibe going and you aren’t just shouting into the dark at a room that sounds from the stage like the rush of anechoic white noise you hear when you put your ear to a shell.
“Also, I am in a zone now where no-one has ever been before. No-one has ever written as much stand-up as me and kept it developing and changing. I’m not saying I’m the best stand-up, but I am pushing forward in my own way.
“I am interested in the old-fashioned notion of seeing what happens if, instead of treating stand-up like a route to films or monetisable celebrity, you continue to treat it as an end itself into your 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s.”
So don’t expect to see him taking the well-trodden path of hosting TV game shows or chat shows anytime soon.
“I don’t want to do anything except stand-up,” he says. “There are documentaries I could have or should have done, but you only tend to get things like that now if someone can measure your attraction via online follower counts, and I don’t do any social media.”
Aaah yes, documentaries. The 2020 King Rocker film he made with Michael Cumming, chronicling the life and times of Birmingham band The Nightingales and their idiosyncratic lead singer Robert Lloyd, received critical acclaim and was obviously a labour of love. Has he got any similar projects lined up?
“The Nightingales doc was crowd-funded and paid for by us doing benefits. There was no further funding forthcoming to do anything similar on a viable level despite its critical acclaim,” he says.
“I can only afford to do those sorts of things if I have done other work that has subsidised them and, obviously, we are all trying to catch up from a two-year break. It would also need to be something – as The Nightingales doc was – that my wife [fellow comedian Bridget Christie] would feel was worthwhile enough me taking the time off to make.”
The chemistry between Lee and Lloyd was one of the King Rocker’s highlights. Could we see them share the screen again in a Mortimer and Whitehouse-style series?
Probably not, admits Lee, adding “it’s hard enough for Mortimer and Whitehouse to get funding for a Mortimer and Whitehouse series!”.
Regular audiences will know that Lee’s stage persona loves to, ahem, analyse his fellow comedian’s acts. So, which of them get most offended– the ones he mentions, or the ones he doesn’t?
“The character of Stewart Lee onstage isn’t your pretend friend, or a pretend normal bloke. He is a man who does comedy for a living, so it makes sense that he would talk about his experiences of the business, as that is his ‘truth’, says Lee (the off-stage one).
“Most of the comedians whose acts I talk about, I would imagine, can see that I have watched, and arguably even enjoyed, what they do. The only stand-up I have mentioned in the last few years on stage who I feel really is not very good at the art form on any level is Ricky Gervais.
“I expect on some level he knows that and is ashamed of the extent to which he has been able to pull the wool over people’s eyes. It is a tragic situation really.”
Talking of fellow comics, does he think Ukraine’s comedian-turned-president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has created unrealistic expectations about what a comedian can achieve?
“I hope Zelensky is able to capitalise on his profile with a successful Edinburgh fringe run in the near future,” he quips.
12dgdgdgdgdgdg, Youtube
12dgdgdgdgdgdg, Youtube
Gwaites, Digitalspy
Gwaites, Digitalspy
Johnny Kitkat, dontstartmeoff.com
Johnny Kitkat, dontstartmeoff.com
Liam Travitt, Twitter
Liam Travitt, Twitter
Borathigh5, Youtube
Borathigh5, Youtube
Kozzy06, Youtube
Kozzy06, Youtube
Anonymous, The Northfield Patriot
Anonymous, The Northfield Patriot
Stokeylitfest, Twitter
Stokeylitfest, Twitter
Coxy, Dontstartmeoff.com
Coxy, Dontstartmeoff.com
Bosco239, youtube
Bosco239, youtube
Aiden Hearn, Twitter
Aiden Hearn, Twitter
Mpf1947, Youtube
Mpf1947, Youtube
Dave Wilson, Chortle.com
Dave Wilson, Chortle.com
Alwyn, Digiguide.tv
Alwyn, Digiguide.tv
Sidsings000, Youtube
Sidsings000, Youtube
Lucinda Locketts, Twitter
Lucinda Locketts, Twitter
Anonymous, don'tstartmeoff.com
Anonymous, don'tstartmeoff.com
Neva2busy, dontstartmeoff.com
Neva2busy, dontstartmeoff.com
Mini-x2, readytogo.net
Mini-x2, readytogo.net
Genghis McKahn, Guardian.co.uk
Genghis McKahn, Guardian.co.uk
Joycey, readytogo.net
Joycey, readytogo.net
98rosjon, Twitter
98rosjon, Twitter
Anon, dontstartmeoff.com
Anon, dontstartmeoff.com
Dick Socrates, Twitter
Dick Socrates, Twitter
Rowing Rob, Guardian.co.uk
Rowing Rob, Guardian.co.uk
Pnethor, pne-online.com
Pnethor, pne-online.com
Clampdown59, Twitter.
Clampdown59, Twitter.
Brendon, Vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk
Brendon, Vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk
Stuart, Chortle
Stuart, Chortle
Rudeness, Youtube
Rudeness, Youtube
Tokyofist, Youtube
Tokyofist, Youtube
Lancethrustworthy, Youtube
Lancethrustworthy, Youtube
Peter Ould, Youtube
Peter Ould, Youtube
World Without End, Twitter
World Without End, Twitter
Anon, westhamonline.com
Anon, westhamonline.com
Fairy Pingu, Twitter
Fairy Pingu, Twitter
Guest, Dontstartmeoff.com
Guest, Dontstartmeoff.com
Robert Gavin, Twitter
Robert Gavin, Twitter
Mrdavisn01, Twitter
Mrdavisn01, Twitter
Aaron, comedy.co.uk
Aaron, comedy.co.uk
Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
Shit Crit, Twitter
Shit Crit, Twitter
John Robins, Comedian
John Robins, Comedian
Maninabananasuit, Guardian.co.uk
Maninabananasuit, Guardian.co.uk
Carcrazychica, Youtube
Carcrazychica, Youtube
General Lurko 36, Guardian.co.uk
General Lurko 36, Guardian.co.uk
Visualiser1, Twitter
Visualiser1, Twitter
Spanner, dontstartmeoff.com
Spanner, dontstartmeoff.com
Cabluigi, Guardian.co.uk
Cabluigi, Guardian.co.uk
Tweeter Kyriakou, Twitter
Tweeter Kyriakou, Twitter
Joskins, Leeds Music Forum
Joskins, Leeds Music Forum
Hiewy, Youtube
Hiewy, Youtube
Tin Frog, Twitter
Tin Frog, Twitter
Frankie Boyle, Comedian
Frankie Boyle, Comedian
Birmingham Sunday Mercury
Birmingham Sunday Mercury
Al Murray, Comedian
Al Murray, Comedian
Cojones2, Guardian.co.uk
Cojones2, Guardian.co.uk
Henry Howard Fun, Twitter
Henry Howard Fun, Twitter
Gabrielle, Chortle.com
Gabrielle, Chortle.com
Len Firewood, Twitter
Len Firewood, Twitter
Funday’schild, youtube.
Funday’schild, youtube.
Microcuts 22, Twitter
Microcuts 22, Twitter
Emilyistrendy, Youtube
Emilyistrendy, Youtube
Neolab, Guardian.co.uk
Neolab, Guardian.co.uk
Pirate Crocodile, Twitter
Pirate Crocodile, Twitter
Horatio Melvin, Twitter
Horatio Melvin, Twitter
Deepbass, Guardian.co.uk
Deepbass, Guardian.co.uk
Dahoum, Guardian.co.uk
Dahoum, Guardian.co.uk
Someoneyoudon'tknow, Chortle.com
Someoneyoudon'tknow, Chortle.com
Syhr, breakbeat.co.uk
Syhr, breakbeat.co.uk
Lents, redandwhitekop.com
Lents, redandwhitekop.com
Anon, BBC Complaints Log
Anon, BBC Complaints Log
GRTak, finalgear.com
GRTak, finalgear.com
DVDhth's grandparents, Twitter
DVDhth's grandparents, Twitter
Mearecate, Youtube
Mearecate, Youtube
Rubyshoes, Twitter
Rubyshoes, Twitter
Cyberbloke, Twitter
Cyberbloke, Twitter
Lee Mack, Mack The Life, 2012
Lee Mack, Mack The Life, 2012
Iain, eatenbymissionaries
Iain, eatenbymissionaries
James Dellingpole, Daily Telegraph
James Dellingpole, Daily Telegraph
Etienne, Chortle.com
Etienne, Chortle.com
Foxfoxton, Youtube
Foxfoxton, Youtube
Chez, Chortle.com
Chez, Chortle.com
Carla, St Albans, Dailymail.co.uk
Carla, St Albans, Dailymail.co.uk
Meanstreetelite, Peoplesrepublicofcork
Meanstreetelite, Peoplesrepublicofcork
Shane, Beverley, Dailymail.co.uk
Shane, Beverley, Dailymail.co.uk
Tweeterkiryakou, Twitter
Tweeterkiryakou, Twitter
Z-factor, Twitter.
Z-factor, Twitter.
Bobby Bhoy, Twitter
Bobby Bhoy, Twitter
BBC iPlayer edition of discussion of Stewart Lee on A Good Read
BBC iPlayer edition of discussion of Stewart Lee on A Good Read
Ishamayura Byrd, Twitter
Ishamayura Byrd, Twitter
Alex Quarmby, Edfringe.com
Alex Quarmby, Edfringe.com
Keilloh, Twitter
Keilloh, Twitter
Jamespearse, Twitter
Jamespearse, Twitter
Meninblack, Twitter
Meninblack, Twitter
Guest1001, Youtube
Guest1001, Youtube
Anamatronix, Youtube
Anamatronix, Youtube
Tres Ryan, Twitter
Tres Ryan, Twitter
Peter Fears, Twitter
Peter Fears, Twitter
Richard Herring, Comedian
Richard Herring, Comedian
Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph
Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph
Contrapuntal, Twitter
Contrapuntal, Twitter
Gmanthedemon, bbc.co.uk
Gmanthedemon, bbc.co.uk
NevW47479, UKTV.co.uk
NevW47479, UKTV.co.uk
Joe, Independent.co.uk
Joe, Independent.co.uk
Zombie Hamster, Twitter
Zombie Hamster, Twitter
Sam Rooney, Youtube
Sam Rooney, Youtube
Sweeping Curves, Twitter
Sweeping Curves, Twitter
Idrie, Youtube
Idrie, Youtube
Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
Wharto15, Twitter
Wharto15, Twitter
Lenny Darksphere, Twitter
Lenny Darksphere, Twitter
Peter Ould, Twitter
Peter Ould, Twitter
Pudabaya, Twitter
Pudabaya, Twitter
Whoiscuriousgeorge, Youtube
Whoiscuriousgeorge, Youtube
Nicetime, Guardian.co.uk
Nicetime, Guardian.co.uk
Yukio Mishima, dontstartmeoff.com
Yukio Mishima, dontstartmeoff.com
Pudabaya, beexcellenttoeachother.com
Pudabaya, beexcellenttoeachother.com
FBC, finalgear.com
FBC, finalgear.com
Danazawa, Youtube
Danazawa, Youtube
Fowkes81, Twitter
Fowkes81, Twitter
Leach Juice, Twitter
Leach Juice, Twitter
Brighton Argus
Brighton Argus
Slothy Matt, Twitter
Slothy Matt, Twitter
Secretdeveloper, Youtube
Secretdeveloper, Youtube
Jackmumf, Twitter
Jackmumf, Twitter
Esme Folley, Actress, cellist, Twitter
Esme Folley, Actress, cellist, Twitter
Karen Laidlaw, Edfringe. com.
Karen Laidlaw, Edfringe. com.
A D Ward, Twitter
A D Ward, Twitter