“This is my first mid-30s, pretentious one-man show,” says Stewart Lee in an apologetic intro to Pea Green Boat. This isn’t stand-up, he warns, so prepare not to laugh. The preamble promises some daring dramatic experiment. In fact, this solo delve into Edward Lear’s most famous poem is sweet and very funny – but doesn’t deviate greatly from the stand-up with which Lee made his name.
It is structured as the story of a short time in Lee’s life. His career was hitting the skids when he was commissioned to write a film of Edward Lear’s life. At the same time, his toilet was broken and he couldn’t go to the loo. He interweaves these unlikely story strands into an examination of The Owl and the Pussycat – a boat trip, he points out, undertaken by a bird and its natural predator. Many of the show’s laughs derive from Lee’s droll determination to take the ditty literally: how can an owl play a small guitar? How can a turkey conduct a wedding ceremony? He recites extracts from the owl’s travelogue, to the moody strains of an accompanying cello. Guest star Simon Munnery appears as Lear, and as the would-be biopic star Ray Winstone, “from Scum, and Sexy Beast”.
The storytelling structure sets up expectations of dramatic fulfilment on which Pea Green Boat doesn’t yet deliver. This is still, essentially, stand-up, even if its subject matter is unusually esoteric and biographical. Lee is a comedy master by now, and his own pleasure and nonplussed sense of absurdity constantly amuses. He makes his material seem like a veritable mine of comic potential, so that on Day 47 of the owl’s journal, when the boat trip ends, Lee finds the bird complaining: “But I’ve nearly learnt to play Mull of Kintyre”.
Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
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Sweeping Curves, Twitter
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Mini-x2, readytogo.net
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Dick Socrates, Twitter
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12dgdgdgdgdgdg, Youtube
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Pudabaya, beexcellenttoeachother.com
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Peter Fears, Twitter
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BBC iPlayer edition of discussion of Stewart Lee on A Good Read
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Meanstreetelite, Peoplesrepublicofcork
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Maninabananasuit, Guardian.co.uk
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Karen Laidlaw, Edfringe. com.
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Anon, westhamonline.com
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A D Ward, Twitter
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Tweeter Kyriakou, Twitter
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Sam Rooney, Youtube
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Lents, redandwhitekop.com
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General Lurko 36, Guardian.co.uk
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Shit Crit, Twitter
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Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph
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NevW47479, UKTV.co.uk
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Rubyshoes, Twitter
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Dave Wilson, Chortle.com
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Anon, dontstartmeoff.com
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Rowing Rob, Guardian.co.uk
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Neolab, Guardian.co.uk
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Guest, Dontstartmeoff.com
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Microcuts 22, Twitter
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Anon, BBC Complaints Log
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GRTak, finalgear.com
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Frankie Boyle, Comedian
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FBC, finalgear.com
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Keilloh, Twitter
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Tres Ryan, Twitter
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Idrie, Youtube
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Neva2busy, dontstartmeoff.com
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Birmingham Sunday Mercury
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Lenny Darksphere, Twitter
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Robert Gavin, Twitter
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Henry Howard Fun, Twitter
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Genghis McKahn, Guardian.co.uk
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Richard Herring, Comedian
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Zombie Hamster, Twitter
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Joycey, readytogo.net
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Esme Folley, Actress, cellist, Twitter
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Anonymous, don'tstartmeoff.com
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Joe, Independent.co.uk
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98rosjon, Twitter
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John Robins, Comedian
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Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
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Johnny Kitkat, dontstartmeoff.com
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Meninblack, Twitter
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Pudabaya, Twitter
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Alex Quarmby, Edfringe.com
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Lucinda Locketts, Twitter
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World Without End, Twitter
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Lee Mack, Mack The Life, 2012
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James Dellingpole, Daily Telegraph
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Fowkes81, Twitter
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Gmanthedemon, bbc.co.uk
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Kozzy06, Youtube
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Anamatronix, Youtube
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Al Murray, Comedian
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Etienne, Chortle.com
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DVDhth's grandparents, Twitter
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Secretdeveloper, Youtube
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Borathigh5, Youtube
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Spanner, dontstartmeoff.com
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Carcrazychica, Youtube
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Bobby Bhoy, Twitter
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Mearecate, Youtube
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Liam Travitt, Twitter
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Wharto15, Twitter
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Ishamayura Byrd, Twitter
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Pirate Crocodile, Twitter
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Jackmumf, Twitter
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Contrapuntal, Twitter
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Aiden Hearn, Twitter
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Iain, eatenbymissionaries