Stewart Lee has been touring the appallingly-titled ‘Room With A Stew’ show so long his agents obviously thought it safe to slip in a second date at Warwick Arts Centre a year after the first, perhaps relying on the punters’ memories being as useless as their ability to grasp his convoluted brand of stand-up – something the comedian regularly chastises them for.
The tour has been a way to hone and road test material for a new run of his Comedy Vehicle TV show, but while that date 12 months ago showed very much a work in progress, the fourth series is now in the can so this latest performance was much closer to the finished product.
Whether Lee really has a finished product is a moot point.
The set certainly never felt like it – and the comic would baulk at the notion of putting on the same sort of polished routine as the panel-show stars he habitually mocks – but the meticulous construction of his layered material offers damning evidence to the contrary.
Simultaneously intelligent and absurd, he takes logical thoughts – on topics ranging from wealth and patriotism to missing out on a BAFTA and urine – to illogical conclusions.
Lee truly comes into his own when he deconstructs (and often destructs) it all again.
Some elements didn’t quite hit the mark, and the passive-aggressive stance and contempt for the audience shtick are definitely starting to wear a bit thin, but Lee remains the UK’s boldest and most original comedian.
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Keilloh, Twitter
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Yukio Mishima, dontstartmeoff.com
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BBC iPlayer edition of discussion of Stewart Lee on A Good Read
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Richard Herring, Comedian
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Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph
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Shane, Beverley, Dailymail.co.uk
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Johnny Kitkat, dontstartmeoff.com
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Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
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Someoneyoudon'tknow, Chortle.com
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Cojones2, Guardian.co.uk