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Content Provider (The Show)Content Provider, De Montfort Hall

By Josh Coyne in Leicester Mercury Posted on Friday, February 10th, 2017

On the opening night of the Leicester Comedy Festival, a smattering of empty seats can be seen as Stewart Lee takes to the stage of De Montfort Hall. The absentees do not go unnoticed.

The faux-embittered comedic juggernaut seems displeased that he failed to sell out the first of two Leicester dates and he is determined thereafter to make the audience, as well as himself, work for their night’s entertainment.

‘Content Provider’ didn’t need to be a challenge for anybody. When addressing the treasure trove of accessible material created by recent political happenings, Lee finds a way to simultaneously complain about the short lifespan of Brexit and Trump jokes, whilst also shaping parts of his show around them.

He expertly structures opening segments of each act in order to highlight the absurdity of both events and hold a mirror between them.

As has come to be expected, Lee’s relationship with the audience is suitably jagged.

He playfully challenges Leicestershire’s political leanings, questions their usage of Gary Lineker as a cultural figurehead and berates audience members attempting a stealth exit to the toilets.

He does however, earnestly provide local comedy fans with a recommendation, in the form of Paul Currie, who will appear at the Firebug this Saturday.

What sets ‘Content Provider’ apart from most of what you will see at the festival is the unique overarching theme.

With the help Caspar David Friedrich’s oil painting ‘Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog’, the show’s main objective is to explore our position within the chaos of digital consumerism.

He tackles social media, dating apps, instant gratification and even ‘Game Of Thrones’. It’s powerful, it’s pointed and it’s hilarious.

As he points out, Lee is now viewed as a spokesperson for the metropolitan liberal elite.

Many critics feel as though his main purpose is to massage the pre-existing ideas of his left-leaning audience.

A Stewart Lee show is engrossing, masterfully crafted and occasionally exhausting.

Much to the dismay of Lee’s on-stage persona, this left-leaning Leicester audience seem more than happy to receive the aforementioned massage and have their hard work rewarded in a big way.

Written by Josh Coyne in Leicester Mercury on 10th February 2017. Filed Under: Content Provider (Show), Reviews
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