Press clippings Page 31
Stew looks at patriotism this week, in particular our difficult relationship with the St George's flag and what it has come to represent. He's revered - and rightly so - for his lengthy, repetitive, borderline operatic gags but, unfortunately, it's questionable whether the 20 minutes or so spent relating a story about his cat - called Jeremy Corbyn - and an exhausting case of its violent diarrhoea is worth the investment. It all feels a bit leaden come the punchline. But even at his worst, he's still better than most.
Ben Arnold, The Guardian, 17th March 2016Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle preview - Patriotsm
The most interesting point Stewart Lee makes in the third episode of his current series, subtitled 'Patriotism', comes at the start when he talks about the biggest problem the modern satirist faces. The news is in such flux, says Lee, it is hard to get a handle on it for comedy. And if Lee is having that problem, spare a thought for lesser mortals out there trying to monetize their social commentary.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 16th March 2016"I assure you, within three minutes, on this television programme, on this stage, a Muslim will have been lampooned." Well, sort of. This is a Stewart Lee joint, after all: a safe space for a complicit audience well-versed in the man's ziggurats of irony and meta-commentaries of unending depths. This week, then: Islamophobia, a deft high-wire act, further riffing on everything from Quakerism to Dapper Laughs ("What kind of person gets dropped by ITV2? It's like being barred from a pub that's already on fire").
Ali Catterall, The Guardian, 10th March 2016Stewart Lee talks comedy
Stewart Lee talks comedy, success and why stand-up is the only thing he ever wants to do.
Ben Dowell, Radio Times, 10th March 2016TV preview: Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle, episode 4.2
Warning. This episode contains skipping. Sure enough, Lee suckered his TV viewers in last week with a relatively benign look at the nature of modern comedy and a few cheeky swipes at his fellow entertainers. This week he goes for the jugular, addressing the more tricky question of the rise of Islamophobia and the acceptability of jokes about religion. The skipping, inevitably, comes in a section about a different rise - the rise of observational comedy.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 7th March 2016Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle roars back
Billed as addressing wealth, it was more specific than that: it was about Lee's wealth, or lack of it.
Brian Logan, The Guardian, 4th March 2016"No one is equipped to review me," says Lee, beginning the fourth round of his standup series. He's joking. Kind of. By now, he's basically Oscar Wilde: it's practically impossible to divine any meaning from his increasingly complex pose. Lee says he adopts a snobbish persona to make people "laugh in spite of me, not because of me". Hopefully, that's not a rare moment of earnestness: this is a show dominated by a commentary on audience reaction, real and imagined, that's unlikely to have anyone in stitches.
Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian, 3rd March 2016Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle review
Accused of intellectual snobbery, Stewart Lee hits back, pointing out that it's a valid performance device, under the theatrical technique of Brechtian alienation. Thus explaining himself and reinforcing the criticism in one kamikaze blow.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 3rd March 2016Stewart Lee interviewed
Stewart Lee is back with another series of Comedy Vehicle. He tells Simon Price his thoughts on Lenny Bruce, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn, swimming through piss, Brexit and the pitfalls of being constantly misunderstood.
Simon Price, The Quietus, 3rd March 2016Sublime stand-up from Stewart Lee
The finest half hour of comedy ever written and performed, in my opinion, was one particular episode of Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle.
Tara Pardo, The Bristol Post, 29th February 2016