Review – Stewart Lee, Snowflake/Tornado ★★★ ½ - November 2019 London Is Funny - By Paul Fleckney - November 8th, 2019

For a little while now, Stewart Lee has been drifting in and out of relevance, veering between revered godfather of British standup, and largely ignored godfather of British standup. Time was that young comics would pore over his Comedy Vehicle programme as a lodestar of how to become successful without compromise, which is exactly what…

Snowflake/Tornado ★★★★ - November 2019 Chortle - By Steve Bennett - November 8th, 2019

The notion of status has always been crucial to Stewart Lee’s stand-up, whether it be his place in the world or how he interacts with his audience. Anyone who’s read the annotated transcripts of his shows knows the attention he pays to subtly ensuring he is always on the back foot. Despite critical acclaim and…

Sharknado meets Alan Bennett in a virtuoso show ★★★★ - November 2019 The Telegraph - By Tristram Fane Saunders - November 8th, 2019

“I don’t really have any friends who are comedians,” Stewart Lee sighs, mock-pitifully, in his superb new show Snowflake/Tornado. It’s easy to see why. One of the few taboos in stand-up comedy is stand-up itself. Most comics shy away from discussing their peers onstage, but not Lee. Dave Chappelle, Ricky Gervais and Josh Widdicombe are…

Comedic tornado blows hot and cold ★★★ - November 2019 The Times - By Dominic Maxwell - November 7th, 2019

Stewart Lee likes to paint himself as an outcast. So how does he cope when, even with his BBC2 series long gone, he has already sold out three months in this 400-seater with a long tour and five nights at the Royal Festival Hall to follow? When Alan Bennett is among his fans? When this…

Tornado / Snowflake review – joyously funny ★★★★★ - November 2019 The Guardian - By Brian Logan - November 7th, 2019

What is Stewart Lee’s position in the comedy marketplace? And whither his “metropolitan liberal elite” sensitivities in the post-PC age? These are the questions Lee considers in his first new live material for three years, divvied up into two sets: Tornado and Snowflake. Tonight, he tells us with his trademark mix of disdain and high…

Phoebe Waller-Bridge in the firing line in shark-infested laugh fest ★★★★ - November 2019 The Evening Standard - By Bruce Dessau - November 7th, 2019

Stewart Lee’s latest show is actually two shows. In Tornado he takes his cue from a Netflix listings error that confused his stand-up special with a shark film gorefest. Then in Snowflake he plunges into the world of political correctness. To be frank, there is not as much distinction as one hoped. Ricky Gervais, for…