Stewart Lee’s marathon run of work-in-progress stand up shows opened last night (29/06/2015) in the Soho Theatre. Lee will carry on these shows almost continuously until January 2016, preparing material for his BBC comedy vehicle.
A favourite comedian of mine, I had seen him perform towards the end of this process last year in the Leicester Square Theatre. Yet this didn’t really compare to the experience of watching him in the very first stages of his comedy show, in the intimate space of the Soho Theatre. This is how comedy should be done. Not the distant relationship offered by 02 arena stand-up format, entirely focused on making money.
The cosy and compact basement of the Soho Theatre allowed Lee to insult the audience more directly. He was quick to emphasise that we were guardian readers (true), we were under 40 (mostly true), we weren’t clever enough to understand his jokes (sometimes true). Although insulting his audience has become a central part of Lee’s routine, he had found new and creative ways to make us all feel bad about ourselves. This experience, part of what he referenced as Brechtian Alienation, served to make the audience think about who attends comedy and why.
The set was in three parts, each in varying stages of completion. The night started with tried and tested material about Islam, and more specifically its treatment in the comedy world. Delightfully North-London centric, Lee then went into material about Quakers in Stamford Hill and shopping on Green Lanes. Like most of his comedy, one of the key themes of his performance was to reference those on the periphery celebrities who we forgot we hated, before going on to rip them apart. On the opening night this included Rod Liddle and Jim Davidson, as well as material about more well known individuals like Katie Hopkins and Richard ‘the Hamster’ Hammond. At a number of times in the night the stand-up risked falling back into old material that had been seen many times before, this however was not often enough to effect the show,
The telegraph journalist Dominic Cavendish argued that he walked out of a Stewart Lee gig because of his contempt for the audience, and the vitriol around which he constructs his routine. However in reflection, this is the exact reason I stayed.
Liam Travitt, Twitter
Liam Travitt, Twitter
Genghis McKahn, Guardian.co.uk
Genghis McKahn, Guardian.co.uk
Mrdavisn01, Twitter
Mrdavisn01, Twitter
Bobby Bhoy, Twitter
Bobby Bhoy, Twitter
Anon, BBC Complaints Log
Anon, BBC Complaints Log
Guest1001, Youtube
Guest1001, Youtube
Len Firewood, Twitter
Len Firewood, Twitter
Karen Laidlaw, Edfringe. com.
Karen Laidlaw, Edfringe. com.
Fowkes81, Twitter
Fowkes81, Twitter
Richard Herring, Comedian
Richard Herring, Comedian
Tres Ryan, Twitter
Tres Ryan, Twitter
General Lurko 36, Guardian.co.uk
General Lurko 36, Guardian.co.uk
Clampdown59, Twitter.
Clampdown59, Twitter.
Joycey, readytogo.net
Joycey, readytogo.net
Secretdeveloper, Youtube
Secretdeveloper, Youtube
Spanner, dontstartmeoff.com
Spanner, dontstartmeoff.com
Anon, dontstartmeoff.com
Anon, dontstartmeoff.com
Rowing Rob, Guardian.co.uk
Rowing Rob, Guardian.co.uk
Joe, Independent.co.uk
Joe, Independent.co.uk
Aaron, comedy.co.uk
Aaron, comedy.co.uk
Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph
Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph
Jamespearse, Twitter
Jamespearse, Twitter
Gwaites, Digitalspy
Gwaites, Digitalspy
Anon, westhamonline.com
Anon, westhamonline.com
Tweeter Kyriakou, Twitter
Tweeter Kyriakou, Twitter
Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
Microcuts 22, Twitter
Microcuts 22, Twitter
Rubyshoes, Twitter
Rubyshoes, Twitter
Brighton Argus
Brighton Argus
Dave Wilson, Chortle.com
Dave Wilson, Chortle.com
Mpf1947, Youtube
Mpf1947, Youtube
Cabluigi, Guardian.co.uk
Cabluigi, Guardian.co.uk
Visualiser1, Twitter
Visualiser1, Twitter
Nicetime, Guardian.co.uk
Nicetime, Guardian.co.uk
Anamatronix, Youtube
Anamatronix, Youtube
Shane, Beverley, Dailymail.co.uk
Shane, Beverley, Dailymail.co.uk
Pnethor, pne-online.com
Pnethor, pne-online.com
Someoneyoudon'tknow, Chortle.com
Someoneyoudon'tknow, Chortle.com
World Without End, Twitter
World Without End, Twitter
DVDhth's grandparents, Twitter
DVDhth's grandparents, Twitter
Gmanthedemon, bbc.co.uk
Gmanthedemon, bbc.co.uk
Lee Mack, Mack The Life, 2012
Lee Mack, Mack The Life, 2012
Pudabaya, Twitter
Pudabaya, Twitter
Mini-x2, readytogo.net
Mini-x2, readytogo.net
Guest, Dontstartmeoff.com
Guest, Dontstartmeoff.com
Slothy Matt, Twitter
Slothy Matt, Twitter
Bosco239, youtube
Bosco239, youtube
Brendon, Vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk
Brendon, Vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk
Zombie Hamster, Twitter
Zombie Hamster, Twitter
Frankie Boyle, Comedian
Frankie Boyle, Comedian
Carcrazychica, Youtube
Carcrazychica, Youtube
Alwyn, Digiguide.tv
Alwyn, Digiguide.tv
Anonymous, don'tstartmeoff.com
Anonymous, don'tstartmeoff.com
Joskins, Leeds Music Forum
Joskins, Leeds Music Forum
Aiden Hearn, Twitter
Aiden Hearn, Twitter
Stuart, Chortle
Stuart, Chortle
Cyberbloke, Twitter
Cyberbloke, 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
Foxfoxton, Youtube
Foxfoxton, Youtube
Cojones2, Guardian.co.uk
Cojones2, Guardian.co.uk
Ishamayura Byrd, Twitter
Ishamayura Byrd, Twitter
Yukio Mishima, dontstartmeoff.com
Yukio Mishima, dontstartmeoff.com
Neva2busy, dontstartmeoff.com
Neva2busy, dontstartmeoff.com
Neolab, Guardian.co.uk
Neolab, Guardian.co.uk
Lents, redandwhitekop.com
Lents, redandwhitekop.com
Johnny Kitkat, dontstartmeoff.com
Johnny Kitkat, dontstartmeoff.com
Henry Howard Fun, Twitter
Henry Howard Fun, Twitter
Dahoum, Guardian.co.uk
Dahoum, Guardian.co.uk
Birmingham Sunday Mercury
Birmingham Sunday Mercury
FBC, finalgear.com
FBC, finalgear.com
Kozzy06, Youtube
Kozzy06, Youtube
Shit Crit, Twitter
Shit Crit, Twitter
Tin Frog, Twitter
Tin Frog, Twitter
Stokeylitfest, Twitter
Stokeylitfest, Twitter
Lenny Darksphere, Twitter
Lenny Darksphere, Twitter
Dick Socrates, Twitter
Dick Socrates, Twitter
Pudabaya, beexcellenttoeachother.com
Pudabaya, beexcellenttoeachother.com
Peter Ould, Twitter
Peter Ould, Twitter
Gabrielle, Chortle.com
Gabrielle, Chortle.com
Tokyofist, Youtube
Tokyofist, Youtube
Tweeterkiryakou, Twitter
Tweeterkiryakou, Twitter
Fairy Pingu, Twitter
Fairy Pingu, Twitter
Jackmumf, Twitter
Jackmumf, Twitter
Chez, Chortle.com
Chez, Chortle.com
GRTak, finalgear.com
GRTak, finalgear.com
Borathigh5, Youtube
Borathigh5, Youtube
Whoiscuriousgeorge, Youtube
Whoiscuriousgeorge, Youtube
Idrie, Youtube
Idrie, Youtube
Funday’schild, youtube.
Funday’schild, youtube.
Emilyistrendy, Youtube
Emilyistrendy, Youtube
Syhr, breakbeat.co.uk
Syhr, breakbeat.co.uk
John Robins, Comedian
John Robins, Comedian
Horatio Melvin, Twitter
Horatio Melvin, Twitter
Meanstreetelite, Peoplesrepublicofcork
Meanstreetelite, Peoplesrepublicofcork
Sam Rooney, Youtube
Sam Rooney, Youtube
Danazawa, Youtube
Danazawa, Youtube
A D Ward, Twitter
A D Ward, Twitter
Robert Gavin, Twitter
Robert Gavin, Twitter
Z-factor, Twitter.
Z-factor, Twitter.
Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
Peter Ould, Youtube
Peter Ould, Youtube
NevW47479, UKTV.co.uk
NevW47479, UKTV.co.uk
Maninabananasuit, Guardian.co.uk
Maninabananasuit, Guardian.co.uk
Peter Fears, Twitter
Peter Fears, Twitter
James Dellingpole, Daily Telegraph
James Dellingpole, Daily Telegraph
Meninblack, Twitter
Meninblack, Twitter
Hiewy, Youtube
Hiewy, Youtube
Pirate Crocodile, Twitter
Pirate Crocodile, Twitter
Sweeping Curves, Twitter
Sweeping Curves, Twitter
Contrapuntal, Twitter
Contrapuntal, Twitter
Alex Quarmby, Edfringe.com
Alex Quarmby, Edfringe.com
Keilloh, Twitter
Keilloh, Twitter
98rosjon, Twitter
98rosjon, Twitter
Lucinda Locketts, Twitter
Lucinda Locketts, Twitter
Carla, St Albans, Dailymail.co.uk
Carla, St Albans, Dailymail.co.uk
Coxy, Dontstartmeoff.com
Coxy, Dontstartmeoff.com
Iain, eatenbymissionaries
Iain, eatenbymissionaries
Anonymous, The Northfield Patriot
Anonymous, The Northfield Patriot
Rudeness, Youtube
Rudeness, Youtube
Al Murray, Comedian
Al Murray, Comedian
Deepbass, Guardian.co.uk
Deepbass, Guardian.co.uk
Wharto15, Twitter
Wharto15, Twitter
Mearecate, Youtube
Mearecate, Youtube
Esme Folley, Actress, cellist, Twitter
Esme Folley, Actress, cellist, Twitter
Leach Juice, Twitter
Leach Juice, Twitter
Etienne, Chortle.com
Etienne, Chortle.com
Sidsings000, Youtube
Sidsings000, Youtube
12dgdgdgdgdgdg, Youtube
12dgdgdgdgdgdg, Youtube
Lancethrustworthy, Youtube
Lancethrustworthy, Youtube