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Stewart Lee

Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle, Series 4

April 21, 2016 by Becca Moody 2 Comments

With every new series of Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle, I find myself not wanting to watch for fear of those who may judge but then almost immediately concluding that I do not care. Yes, Lee is a spiteful comic, but he is also incredibly astute. One can’t help but admire his craft, even if you don’t agree with his viewpoints, which are of course satirically exaggerated anyway, suggesting that those who feel alienated by his comedy may actually be misinterpreting his message. And with his frequent cuts to camera, a television audience cannot help but be drawn in, without suffering the inevitable heart palpitations that would surely follow with such a predicament.

Take, for example, Episode 2, which sees Lee dryly dissect the ever-prominent issue of Islamophobia and the questions it raises with regard to mocking religion through the medium of stand up comedy. The surface layer can easily cause offence but it would be short-sighted of the viewer to assume that Lee wants us to take what he says at face value. Episode 1 sees the comic approach the topic of prostitution and though many may switch off at quips about such matters coming from someone like the esteemed Stewart Lee we see before us, we hold out for lines that release the tension, such as empathising with those who “provide a service people crave and still be despised for it”.

© BBC

© BBC

His observational stints are deliberately placed throughout the series, disguised as digs at others in the comedy industry but serving a greater purpose: as a release of comedic tension. It may seem to be a strange decision, but one that shows great integrity, for Lee to limit his observational material to the extent that he does as he could effortlessly rely on this fine-tuned skill for significant segments of the programme. But it appears that he would interpret this creative decision as laziness and if there is one thing that Stewart Lee abhors (though of course there can’t only be one thing) then it is laziness. This can be appreciated by many, but sometimes it feels like his comments get a little too specific, a little too personal. I genuinely don’t believe that his foremost intention is to cause harm to those he ridicules for it is, most often anyway, their ideas he ridicules rather than their personalities. It seems that offence is a necessary by-product of the message and perhaps we shouldn’t cower from comedy that offends.

All that said, I don’t feel as though I can trust Stewart Lee; perhaps what we read into his jokes are not what he truly means, but I fully appreciate where he is coming from on the majority of occasions, if I am, in fact, correct in where I think he is coming from. A part of me wishes that Chris Morris’ segments were longer or more frequent during each episode, but perhaps this would dilute the impact of Morris’ scorn. Antagonism to say the least, Morris’ role is to demolish any self-righteousness in Lee’s character that has been allowed to fester during his stand up performances on film. The shock of hearing an interviewer speak so rudely to his interviewee, as though there is genuine contempt for Lee and his comedy, is yet another smart release of tension, often resulting in full-blown arguments and a lot of swearing.

Many have accused Lee of making comedy that is self-indulgent, particularly, as he mentions, “those younger comics they have now,”  but only a small amount of closer analysis can enable us to see that there is a reason behind every decision. Stewart Lee overtly works to manufacture an ‘in group’ and an ‘out group’ through his stand up and can I be blamed for wanting to be in the former? I write this on principle, knowing that many would avoid writing an article about the man who famously slams all critics of his work, and coming from a wholly appreciative perspective. I still pray to God that he doesn’t read this.

WATCH SERIES 4 OF STEWART LEE’S COMEDY VEHICLE ON IPLAYER

Posted in: Comedians, Television Shows Tagged: British Comedy, Comedy, Stewart Lee, Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle

The Alternative Comedy Experience, Series 2

April 21, 2015 by Becca Moody 3 Comments

The Alternative Comedy Experience is a programme that has been described as “TV’s only acceptable substitute for getting off the sofa and going to a gig,” as its aim is to broadcast a true representation of a live comedy show, and I think it does a respectable job. The thirteen-episode series opened in the strongest possible way, with the first episode featuring Tony Law, Paul Foot, Bridget Christie, Kevin Eldon and Michael Legge.

There are many opportunities here to learn of new comedy talent, as well as, for me, reaffirming opinions I already had of a few of my favourite comics. It was a pleasure to be able to recognise some of the material from the likes of Law, Foot, Christie and Sinha from times I had seen them live before, but recreated in a new setting (whilst with some of the above I had seen the sets in small clubs, others had been viewed in arts centres and large music halls). Episode eleven, Stag Night, was particularly strong, with Josie Long effectively dealing with a heckling, you guessed it, group of men on a stag night, and Robin Ince managed to draw comparison between Charles Darwin and the world’s other great observers, namely, Michael McIntyre.

Amongst the new comedians I was introduced to, I was very impressed by science nerd and songstress, Helen Arney, as well as Simon Munnery’s alter ego, Alan Parker, and Andy Zaltsman (I’d only listened to interviews with him, never any of his actual stand up). It was also hilarious to hear my mother come into the room whilst Kevin Eldon’s posh poet counterpart was one stage and say: “I had no idea he was called Paul Hamilton!”. As well as Arney, there was an abundance of brilliant musical comedy in this series from the likes of Isy Suttie and David O’Doherty.

An aspect of the production that I really do appreciate, and despite the fact I highly value his stand up, is the fact that there is no performance from Stewart Lee himself, as the curator, on the DVD. I think this decision was very modest, as it allows a larger number of comics to make the episode their own, and avoids the show becoming an extension of Comedy Vehicle. Having Lee’s name attached will inevitably increases interest, and I think his side-stepping of the spotlight is very noble. Lee’s only appearances come in the form of interview clips with the acts, which again adds interesting insight into the performers behind the comedy, and are often the source of just as much laughter.

The Alternative Comedy Experience is one of those programmes that reminds me of the reasons behind my love of comedy. The talent shown here is immense, and I look forward to seeing even more new faces in the next series. The biggest issue I have is with the number of acts crammed into one DVD, as well as the fact I know there are other names who performed at the gigs but were not included in the televised series. It is difficult to tread the line between refining this rather fragmented programme and ensuring it keeps the required feel of a realistic gig experience, but The Alternative Comedy Experience makes a modest attempt at achieving this.

Posted in: Comedians, Television Shows Tagged: Stewart Lee, The Alternative Comedy Experience

The Alternative Comedy Experience

April 18, 2014 by Becca Moody 3 Comments

The Alternative Comedy Experience is important because it aims to show what intimate comedy gigs are actually like so for people who don’t see a lot of live comedy, or only have experience of big arenas, it really shows a whole new world. The show consists of a whole load of individual stand up sets that have been chopped up into small sections and made into thirty minute episodes with as many as four or five comedians featuring in each one. The premise of the show was thought up by the genius that is Stewart Lee and features snippets of interviews conducted by Lee with each comic. The general criteria for the comedians is ‘alternative’ with some being more commonly known than others and I was drawn to the show because many of my favourites feature such as Paul Foot, Tony Law, Henning Wehn and of course, Stewart Lee.

alternative_comedy_experience_group_500

Programmes like this are great because they introduce a whole range of new comics to the viewers. For example, I fell in love with David Kay’s down beat tone which had everyone laughing in the breaks between talking, which is a talent. I had only ever seen Josie Long on panel shows before but I adored her brilliant political views that were hilarious and not too heavy. I think it’s important for comics to discuss politics in their material because young people especially need to be more familiar with things that directly effect them. And Britain’s politicians are laughable in themselves, lest us forget.

I only own series one of The Alternative Comedy Experience and know a second series was released early this year so need to get myself a copy of that. From what I did see though, I definitely wish there could have been more of Paul Foot in particular as I know he is a genius but he didn’t seem to get much stage-time. There were others who I would like to have seen more of also, including Bridget Christie, Robin Ince and David O’Doherty (I have many of his weird songs on my iPod- he’s fantastic, like the love child of Tim Minchin and a child? a chimp? I don’t know).

Tony Law got quite a lot of time which was brilliant because as you know, he’s one of my all time favourites. I worship that guy, seriously- his material is quick, insane and SO surreal which is everything I could want. Henning Wehn was also on top form as usual (he is rapidly becoming one of my favourites) and I can’t wait to watch the DVD I have of his latest stand up tour: No Surrender.

I am looking forward to series two of this show but in the meantime, I will be looking out for names like David Kay, Alun Cochrane and Bridget Christie in particular as these new names stood out for me. Also, I have an important query- HOW ON EARTH IS BRIDGET CHRISTIE 42?! She must be a time traveller or something, she looks wonderful.

I don’t really know anyone who watches this show, so let me know if you do and restore my faith in humanity thanks!

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Posted in: Comedians, Television Shows Tagged: Bridget Christie, British Comedy, Comedy, David Kay, Henning Wehn, Josie Long, Paul Foot, Stewart Lee, The Alternative Comedy Experience, Tony Law

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