Stewart Lee

Stewart Lee patches up differences with McIntyre

Stewart Lee, the comedian who appeared to have offended rival comic Michael McIntyre has moved to patch up differences with his fellow performer.

An interview with Trevor Lock

Trevor Lock is a comedian and playwright whose surreal comedy and collaborations with comedians like Stewart Lee and Russell Brand has earned him a cult following by comedy nerds and non-comedy nerds alike.

DVD review - Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle

Uncompromising, awkward and confrontational style and content cements reputation.

Video: Stewart Lee on music, politics and prostests

Comedian Stewart Lee compared Glastonbury to the House of Commons as he discussed whether music was losing its political message and the power of protest with Andrew Neil, Michael Portillo and Alan Johnson.

Stewart Lee interview

He divides audiences like no other comedian, his fans hanging on every word of his rambling monologues, his critics raging at the lack of laughs. Stewart Lee explains his pleasure at being hated - and why he doesn't do 'jokes'.

Stewart Lee is wrong about the internet killing comedy

By railing against the tyranny of tweets the comedian has dismissed an alternative universe of wonderfully weird humour.

The last of Stewart Lee's virtuoso stand-up performances - except for the second time this series, he's actually sitting down. Tonight the sardonic comic tells a tall tale about meeting a young David Cameron at Oxford in the mid-Eighties. Lee sums up the coalition government thus: "Despite being bred for power, Cameron was only able to get it by hooking up with Nick Clegg. It's like a foxhound that's only able to catch foxes with the assistance of a chihuahua." Recommission please, BBC.

Stewart Lee could have spun the globe wherever he fancied and found plenty of material for Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle (BBC2). This week the theme of what is consistently the funniest show on British TV was national identity, easy pickings for a comedian with Lee's engaging line in world-weary hacked-offness.

On the face of it, Lee took on some easy targets, with Scots and Australians taking the bulk of his ire. William Wallace's sexuality, Scotch eggs - you'll never eat one again - and the spectrum of Australian cultural life ('smoothie... or heroin?') made for an engaging and unapologetic rant.
But shouldn't a cutting-edge comedian be taking a pop at rather more contentious choices and shoving his head above the multicultural parapet?
The answer came in one of Lee's growled asides; not really punchlines to jokes, more a comedy train crashing into the buffers. 'You get the shows you deserve,' he scowled and suddenly the joke was on everyone, me included, who'd been howling along at how daft everyone else is except us.

We travel and we eat fusion cuisine but really we know we're stuck in a parochial past. No one gets up our noses more than those we think we've got most in common with.

Lee was on fire when it came to emigrants Down Under, ripping the surfboard out of every cliché. 'Prawns! Prawns! Prawns! Quality of life! Prawns!' turned into a near-hysteric mantra. Mmm... you probably had to be there. Why weren't you?

In praise of... Stewart Lee

His performances unfurl like a stroll on a summer's day: scenery and good companionship take precedence over destination.

In this penultimate slice of masterful stand-up comedy, Stewart Lee looks at the notion of national identity. Skewered during his erudite, spiralling rant are figures as diverse as Winston Churchill, Michael McIntyre and pretty much the entire population of Australia. There's also a cameo appearance from the cult graphic novelist Alan Moore (Watchmen).