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SNOWFLAKE/TORNADOStewart Lee takes aim at Jimmy Carr, Bristol and more in Comedy Garden gig

The stand-up comedian was as delightfully downbeat and morose as ever

By Robin Murray in Bristol Post Posted on Monday, July 8th, 2019

Stewart Lee has the crowd in the palm of his hand right from the get-go at his Bristol Comedy Garden set on Sunday, July 7, the last performance in this year’s series.

“I know what you’re thinking… Julian Assange has let himself go,” he quips, adding to the long list of lookalikes he has referenced in a long-running joke.

The 51-year-old is as delightfully downbeat and morose as ever throughout his set, discussing his recent diagnosis of high blood pressure, which he blames on his most recent visit to Bristol.

“I was stressed about the slaves last time I performed here. The guilt left me with high blood pressure,” he says, prompting one of many belly laughs from the crowd.

Bristol’s ties with slave traders isn’t the only thing he uses to rip into the city. Early on, he also mocks Bristol’s self-defined bohemian nature.

“You think you’re so trendy in Bristol, don’t you?” he yells at the crowd. “You say things like, ‘for a city of our population we punch well above our weight when it comes to music’ don’t you? Still doesn’t make up for the slave stuff though, does it?”

As ever he is also critical of fellow stand-up comedians, giving damning descriptions of the material of both Jimmy Carr and Ricky Gervais, which earns rapturous applause from the packed-out marquee. He once again demonstrates just how funny repetition can be, by reading out the erroneous blurb which was used to describe his Comedy Vehicle programme on Netflix.

A mix-up at the streaming service saw the description for sci-fi disaster film Sharknado used to describe his show, and ‘Reports of sharks falling from the skies are on the rise again – and nobody on the Eastern Seaboard is safe’ became funnier each time Lee reads it out, comparing his unfortunate description to those of Jimmy Carr, Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais.

Alan Bennett is his next victim, due to a review penned by the legendary playwright in his blog which states how ‘he’s fearless, undeterred by an audience’s failure to respond,’ before going on to say how ‘Erving Goffman would have liked Stewart Lee,’ – a comparison he takes particular offence to.

This then leads to a reading from ‘one of Bennett’s early works’, which Lee says must have acted as inspiration for the aforementioned Sharknado. In typical Stewart Lee fashion, jokes from early on in the set are beautifully intertwined with newer material throughout the set, culminating in a hilarious finale which sews them all together. It’s just a pity his set wasn’t a little longer.

Considering the stand-up, who is widely seen as one of the very best on the circuit, was preceded by three fantastic support acts and masterful compère work from Kiri Pritchard-McLean, it was a truly top night of live comedy which once again showcased the brilliance of Bristol Comedy Garden.

Written by Robin Murray in Bristol Post on 8th July 2019. Filed Under: Reviews, Snowflake/Tornado
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