Stewart Lee was at the Curve to present Vegetable Stew; material intended for his forthcoming Comedy Vehicle TV show.
In his book, How I Escaped My Certain Fate, Lee admitted he enjoys losing an audience and attempting to win it back, which made it difficult to tell if Sunday’s performance was deliberately evasive.
Lee’s understanding of the art of stand-up was evident all through, with numerous asides for meta-observations about the nature of the routine.
On occasion, he would stop the flow to comment on some seemingly unplanned thing he’d said or done.
It then became apparent how carefully planned Lee’s comedy was.
He relied on the audience being sufficiently familiar with stand-up to understand when its conventions were being subverted, and for the most part, they were with him.
The middle of the show elicited less audience approval, concerning satirical observations about Adrian Chiles and Gary Lineker.
By the time he was making accusations that comedian Russell Howard was responsible for deaths in the developing world, the crowd weren’t so sure the targets deserved it.
He pulled everyone back for a confessional tale about his involvement with the elitist Bullingdon Club at Oxford University, before defiantly derailing it at the close.
Lee deserved his plaudits for daring to challenge his audience and they in turn recognised a masterclass when they got it.
Richard Herring, Comedian
Richard Herring, Comedian
Henry Howard Fun, Twitter
Henry Howard Fun, Twitter
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Pudabaya, beexcellenttoeachother.com
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Microcuts 22, Twitter
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Anon, dontstartmeoff.com
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Anon, BBC Complaints Log
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Iain, eatenbymissionaries
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Lee Mack, Mack The Life, 2012
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Tweeterkiryakou, Twitter
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Idrie, Youtube
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Secretdeveloper, Youtube
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Fairy Pingu, Twitter
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Joe, Independent.co.uk
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98rosjon, Twitter
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Yukio Mishima, dontstartmeoff.com
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Frankie Boyle, Comedian
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Anon, westhamonline.com
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Contrapuntal, Twitter
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Brendon, Vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk
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Neolab, Guardian.co.uk
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Johnny Kitkat, dontstartmeoff.com
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Rowing Rob, Guardian.co.uk
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Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
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Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
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Gmanthedemon, bbc.co.uk
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Gabrielle, Chortle.com
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DVDhth's grandparents, Twitter
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Zombie Hamster, Twitter
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Slothy Matt, Twitter
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Esme Folley, Actress, cellist, Twitter
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Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph
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Danazawa, Youtube
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Peter Ould, Youtube
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Al Murray, Comedian
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Horatio Melvin, Twitter
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Wharto15, Twitter
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12dgdgdgdgdgdg, Youtube
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Dave Wilson, Chortle.com
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Lenny Darksphere, Twitter
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Neva2busy, dontstartmeoff.com
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Alex Quarmby, Edfringe.com
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Hiewy, Youtube
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Brighton Argus
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Mearecate, Youtube
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Sam Rooney, Youtube
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Shane, Beverley, Dailymail.co.uk
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Meanstreetelite, Peoplesrepublicofcork
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NevW47479, UKTV.co.uk
BBC iPlayer edition of discussion of Stewart Lee on A Good Read
BBC iPlayer edition of discussion of Stewart Lee on A Good Read
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Aiden Hearn, Twitter
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Visualiser1, Twitter
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Sweeping Curves, Twitter
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Gwaites, Digitalspy
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Karen Laidlaw, Edfringe. com.
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Shit Crit, Twitter
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Lucinda Locketts, Twitter
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General Lurko 36, Guardian.co.uk
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Len Firewood, Twitter
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Jamespearse, Twitter
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Peter Ould, Twitter
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Bobby Bhoy, Twitter
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Spanner, dontstartmeoff.com
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Joycey, readytogo.net
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Cojones2, Guardian.co.uk
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Birmingham Sunday Mercury
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Maninabananasuit, Guardian.co.uk
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Mini-x2, readytogo.net
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Ishamayura Byrd, Twitter
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Keilloh, Twitter
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Coxy, Dontstartmeoff.com
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Dick Socrates, Twitter
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Kozzy06, Youtube
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Lents, redandwhitekop.com
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Mrdavisn01, Twitter
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Foxfoxton, Youtube
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Pudabaya, Twitter
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Robert Gavin, Twitter
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Joskins, Leeds Music Forum
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Peter Fears, Twitter
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Carcrazychica, Youtube
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Someoneyoudon'tknow, Chortle.com
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Stokeylitfest, Twitter
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Anonymous, The Northfield Patriot
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James Dellingpole, Daily Telegraph
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Funday’schild, youtube.
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Stuart, Chortle
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Carla, St Albans, Dailymail.co.uk
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Guest, Dontstartmeoff.com
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Chez, Chortle.com
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Aaron, comedy.co.uk
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Tweeter Kyriakou, Twitter
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Tres Ryan, Twitter
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John Robins, Comedian
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Bosco239, youtube
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GRTak, finalgear.com
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Z-factor, Twitter.