Stewart Lee – Basic Lee Review

The low-hanging fruit of a joke lead from the title of this Stewart Lee set is all too easy. Save it for the end. Blindside the reader with a sense of comfort, pull the rug from under them. Lee is certainly doing just that with the latest live set Basic Lee, and hot off the heels of his Snowflake and Tornado double bill, his stock continues to rise in all the right circles. He has avoided the growing potholes of pastiche and powered through with a similar sounding but effectively different showcase of his comedic skills with this Sky set. Rehash ancient material. The uber fans will notice it and nod along, those newcomers will enjoy it, nonetheless. The fine line is blurred by Lee in a set that once more highlights the joy of his material. You can see it once, you can see it one hundred times, give it a bit of a break in-between and the writing reveals something new on your return. 

His set devolves and explores the trouble of being on the road so long, the dated material ditched not because it is no longer funny, but no longer relevant. Rishi Sunak’s government, the death of the Queen, it all feels so four months ago. Time flies when we sip from muddy puddles to pass the time. For Lee, it remains clear the deconstruction of comedy is not just his forte but his hobby. He is keen to see how it works, to undo the rarely challenged fundamentals of it as a stage practice. Basic Lee gets to the root of what Lee has been documenting since the likes of Carpet Remnant World and Content Provider. Commentary on the culture of the times without the obvious lead. This is the great joy of Lee, who can dip in and out of bashing late audience members and making those irrelevant jokes relevant once more. 

From a Fay Presto bit which investigates the pointlessness of pace to the inherently poor quality of panel to Apollo comedian careers, Lee fires off at the expected targets with a fresh perspective. He has doubled down on his statements. Colin Dench directs well, maintaining the limited movement of the camera by focusing in on a reactionary Lee. Some neat side views of the stage, and the inevitable low camera for Lee to stare at and foam at the mouth, are exceptional. His comedy comes from breaking down the expectations of a punchline – the J.K. Rowling bit especially – but it would not be all there without the quality of a tightly edited brain behind the camera.  

Basic Lee what you would expect from him. Blindsided. It is a matter of proving to himself he can still maintain this form. Basic Lee is excellent. More of the good stuff. Another hit of the divinely funny crack pipe. Go and see it live. There are little flickers of colloquial charm to Lee which adds another layer, smothered in the blankets and coats of his comedy. Newcastle is mocked. Liverpool is mocked. We are but his human playthings as we sit on uncomfortable chairs. Basic Lee is an excellent stand-up set because it manages to capture the fundamentals of this new set from Lee at The Lowry. Exceptional stuff for fans of Lee, but has a bit of a jagged edge for those who have yet to crowbar the meta-comedy trapdoor wide open.