Why I walked out of a Stewart Lee gig… - November 2013 The Telegraph - By Dominic Cavendish - November 9th, 2013

It feels quite empowering to leave a Stewart Lee gig at the first available opportunity. Lee’s latest live outing, running at Leicester Square Theatre and essentially trialling material ahead of recordings for the new series of his BBC show (Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle) is called Much A-Stew About Nothing. On Friday night, he was getting…

Stewart Lee: Much A-Stew About Nothing – Leicester Square Theatre - November 2013 Time Out - By Ben Williams - November 8th, 2013

‘I don’t want to tell you how to do your jobs,’ says Stewart Lee, addressing the reviewers in tonight’s press night audience. ‘But whatever you think of this, you should probably take a star off.’ This isn’t a finished show, explains the influential comic, with a flowing narrative and neat conclusion. ‘Much-a-Stew About Nothing’ is…

Stewart Lee: Much A-Stew About Nothing – Leicester Square Theatre - November 2013 The Evening Standard - By Bruce Dessau - November 8th, 2013

This was not really a proper live show at all. The lengthy run is, by Stewart Lee’s own onstage admission, “faffing” to prepare episodes for his next BBC2 series. Luckily for his audience, Stewart Lee faffing is preferable to a lot of comedians’ faffless finished articles. The title, Much A-Stew About Nothing, is presumably meant…

Stewart Lee: Much A-Stew About Nothing – Leicester Square Theatre - November 2013 The Stage - By Julian Hall - November 8th, 2013

It’s curious thing that Stewart Lee’s annual press outing has, in recent years, come when he starts carving his shows into three half hour segments to fit the remit of his television series – Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle. Lee describes tonight as a “work-in-progress” despite this show running throughout the Edinburgh Fringe and touring the…

Much A-Stew About Nothing – Leicester Square Theatre ★★★★ - November 2013 The Metro - By Sharon Lougher - November 8th, 2013

How many stars to give Stewart Lee? ‘Whatever you decide, dock one off,’ he says teasingly to the critics in the room, ‘this is only going to get worse.’ Of course, you can ignore that: Lee remains one of the best stand-ups in the country and he knows it, which is why, even though he…

Much A-Stew About Nothing – Leicester Square Theatre ★★★★ - November 2013 The Independent - By Julian Hall - November 8th, 2013

Though I’m personally invited to drop a star by Lee tonight, I’ll resist the temptation. This rating comes with a caveat, however. The ursine comic’s often sublime shtick (here ranging over politics, race and age) still requires those allergic to alienating repetition, knowing deconstruction and long-game subversion to deal with that, albeit to a lesser…