A crowd who may, as Stewart surmised, be largely new to him and his different brand of material.
Stewart is a clever man. An angrier Charlie Brooker he deals less in tricky riddles and more in brutal honesty. So yes, while there is a lot of thinking to be done when listening, he isn’t afraid to drop it all and pull off a crass laugh with a profanity or sexual reference.
So the crowd at first seemed slow to warm to him – perhaps the stretched and less-than-comfy arena hampered our ability to unite as one and enjoy the collective humorous experience.
But as he went on his honest approach to what he saw around him, his keen eye for a decent visual punchline after decades in the business and his sheer warmer-than-you-would-think personality slowly won everyone around.
By the time the second half of his set drew to a close there was more laughter and more shaking of seats on their secure rails as shoulders involuntarily rocked to the vibrations of humour.
Stewart was looking at how technology has changed the way we get our enjoyment. How the internet has taken our wider view of existence and clipped it down to 20-second clips of cats falling over on endless loops.
He derided the under-40s, the computer generation. And perhaps what made me laugh so hard was, as a 29-year-old, I completely agreed with the majority of what he was saying. The downfalls of my own generation were hard to deny, and there was plenty I fell foul of myself.
The routine on fads and how stupid they make us was excellent, especially when delving into how our grandparents may have sought to spice up their sex life in the 1930s countryside.
He bemoaned Brexit, lambasted the decision for America to vote Trump in. And there was also time to take a swipe at the all-encompassing TV phenomenon that is Game of Thrones.
His stage was a collection of his rivals’ live DVDs all ‘picked up for 1p online’. As he stamped across their faces with mock venom and anger, the message of his set was really hammered home. Comedians come and go in fads, as has technology such as the DVD itself.
Yet the one thing that has endured is laughter. And we all left with it ringing in our ears (and a reminder to learn about the triangles of jokes).
Ishamayura Byrd, Twitter
Ishamayura Byrd, Twitter
Iain, eatenbymissionaries
Iain, eatenbymissionaries
Carla, St Albans, Dailymail.co.uk
Carla, St Albans, Dailymail.co.uk
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Lucinda Locketts, Twitter
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Nicetime, Guardian.co.uk
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Jackmumf, Twitter
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Someoneyoudon'tknow, Chortle.com
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Fowkes81, Twitter
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Joycey, readytogo.net
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Hiewy, Youtube
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Lenny Darksphere, Twitter
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Z-factor, Twitter.
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Anonymous, The Northfield Patriot
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Keilloh, Twitter
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DVDhth's grandparents, Twitter
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Guest1001, Youtube
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Zombie Hamster, Twitter
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Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
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Jamespearse, Twitter
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Fairy Pingu, Twitter
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Henry Howard Fun, Twitter
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James Dellingpole, Daily Telegraph
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Tin Frog, Twitter
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Aiden Hearn, Twitter
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Rudeness, Youtube
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Gmanthedemon, bbc.co.uk
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Alex Quarmby, Edfringe.com
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Lents, redandwhitekop.com
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Contrapuntal, 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
Deepbass, Guardian.co.uk
Deepbass, Guardian.co.uk
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Shane, Beverley, Dailymail.co.uk
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Bobby Bhoy, Twitter
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Etienne, Chortle.com
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Birmingham Sunday Mercury
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Tres Ryan, Twitter
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Kozzy06, Youtube
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Carcrazychica, Youtube
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NevW47479, UKTV.co.uk
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Mrdavisn01, Twitter
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Alwyn, Digiguide.tv
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Anon, BBC Complaints Log
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Dave Wilson, Chortle.com
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Meninblack, Twitter
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Leach Juice, Twitter
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Borathigh5, Youtube
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12dgdgdgdgdgdg, Youtube
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Lee Mack, Mack The Life, 2012
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Funday’schild, youtube.
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Joskins, Leeds Music Forum
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Horatio Melvin, Twitter
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Cojones2, Guardian.co.uk
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Len Firewood, Twitter
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Aaron, comedy.co.uk
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Yukio Mishima, dontstartmeoff.com
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Neolab, Guardian.co.uk
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Karen Laidlaw, Edfringe. com.
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Emilyistrendy, Youtube
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Richard Herring, Comedian
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Sam Rooney, Youtube
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Slothy Matt, Twitter
Microcuts 22, Twitter
Microcuts 22, Twitter
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Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph
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Pnethor, pne-online.com
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Cabluigi, Guardian.co.uk
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GRTak, finalgear.com
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Whoiscuriousgeorge, Youtube
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World Without End, Twitter
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Mini-x2, readytogo.net
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Maninabananasuit, Guardian.co.uk
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Tweeterkiryakou, Twitter
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Stuart, Chortle
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Anamatronix, Youtube
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Wharto15, Twitter
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Robert Gavin, Twitter
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Pudabaya, beexcellenttoeachother.com
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Rowing Rob, Guardian.co.uk
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Anonymous, don'tstartmeoff.com
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Dahoum, Guardian.co.uk
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Dick Socrates, Twitter
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Chez, Chortle.com
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Johnny Kitkat, dontstartmeoff.com
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Tokyofist, Youtube
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Brighton Argus
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Secretdeveloper, Youtube
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Guest, Dontstartmeoff.com
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Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
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Spanner, dontstartmeoff.com
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Esme Folley, Actress, cellist, Twitter
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Tweeter Kyriakou, Twitter
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Anon, dontstartmeoff.com
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Pirate Crocodile, Twitter
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Liam Travitt, Twitter
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Genghis McKahn, Guardian.co.uk
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Peter Ould, Youtube
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Al Murray, Comedian
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Meanstreetelite, Peoplesrepublicofcork
Syhr, breakbeat.co.uk
Syhr, breakbeat.co.uk
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Neva2busy, dontstartmeoff.com
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98rosjon, Twitter
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Danazawa, Youtube
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General Lurko 36, Guardian.co.uk
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Foxfoxton, Youtube
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Clampdown59, Twitter.
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A D Ward, Twitter
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Pudabaya, Twitter
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Visualiser1, Twitter
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Anon, westhamonline.com
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Sidsings000, Youtube
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Frankie Boyle, Comedian
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Idrie, Youtube
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Bosco239, youtube
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Cyberbloke, Twitter
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Coxy, Dontstartmeoff.com
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Gwaites, Digitalspy
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Peter Fears, Twitter
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John Robins, Comedian
Stokeylitfest, Twitter
Stokeylitfest, Twitter
Joe, Independent.co.uk
Joe, Independent.co.uk
Rubyshoes, Twitter
Rubyshoes, Twitter
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Peter Ould, Twitter
Shit Crit, Twitter
Shit Crit, Twitter
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Lancethrustworthy, Youtube
FBC, finalgear.com
FBC, finalgear.com
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Sweeping Curves, Twitter
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Gabrielle, Chortle.com
Brendon, Vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk
Brendon, Vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk
Mpf1947, Youtube
Mpf1947, Youtube
Mearecate, Youtube
Mearecate, Youtube