Stewart Lee

Stephen Carlin: how his gambling addiction inspired him

The Airdrie-born performer, rated by Stewart Lee in his all-time Top Ten stand-up list, reveals he was once a semi-professional gambler. In fact, he became so hooked on betting he was just one bounced cheque away from becoming homeless.

Stewart Lee: The elite have 'stitched up' comedy

British comedy has undergone an elitist 'stitch-up', with poorer performers being 'priced out' of success, Stewart Lee has claimed.

Stewart Lee describes first encounter with Baconface

Cult Canadian comic Baconface is set to sizzle at the Fringe. Stewart Lee recalls seeing this stand-up giant in 1986 and pays tribute to a man he robbed.

Top 20 comedy shows in London - June

Featuring Stephen Fry, Aziz Ansari, Bill Bailey, Stewart Lee's alter-ego, Reggie Watts, charity fundraisers, Banana Cabaret, the Funny Side, and loads more...

Baconface interview

Stewart Lee cites masked comic Baconface as a key influence. Now he's giving the backwoodsman a UK break.

Stewart Lee gives talk at Oxford University

Stewart Lee returned to Oxford last night to talk to students at his former university college.

The Alternative Comedy Experience is a show 'curated' by Stewart Lee to showcase what he considers to be some of the most exciting stand-ups around today. As with most undertakings by Lee, this is in no way meant to pander to the general population. The show features a line-up of stand up comedians, cutting between sections of their material and backstage clips with Lee himself interviewing the acts. The line-up is predictably eclectic, this week featuring Andy Zaltzmann, Glenn Wool, Stephen Carlin, Sam Simmons and Maeve Higgins.

It's unlikely that you'll enjoy every stand up on each show, but the mix of styles and material mean that you are almost certain to find something that you will like, and maybe even discover someone you would not have previously considered. In earlier episodes I've greatly enjoyed Tony Law's routines, having previously discounted him based on certain panel show appearances.

Maeve Higgins was my highlight from this week's show, though, with a fantastically understated routine of ideas for films in which she could play the starring role. It was a real disappointment that her segment was so short, and I hope that we see more of her in next week's final episode. Andy Zaltzman and Glenn Wool were funny as usual, although in entirely different ways. Stephen Carlin seemed to rely too heavily on material derived from Scottish stereotypes, and didn't bring anything new to the table that we have not seen in some form or another before.

Unfortunately I just didn't 'get' Sam Simmons. Certain members of the audience seemed to really enjoy his incoherent rambling and energetic delivery, so I can't fault his appearance; this show is meant to push the boundaries of TV stand up, acting as almost an antithesis to shows like Live at The Apollo (which it directly follows on Comedy Central).

The thing I like most about this show, though, is not the acts, nor is it the short interview sections. It's the realism. Although the show is heavily edited, you really get a feel that it is being thoroughly honest; it's in a proper comedy club (it stresses this at the beginning), the audience are up for it but not overly forgiving, and when jokes don't land they don't leave them on the editing room floor.

This week's new live comedy

Previews of The Lumberjacks, Stewart Lee and David Kay.