Edinburgh Fringe 2009: Stewart Lee - If You Prefer a Milder Comedian, Please Ask for One (Stewart Lee: If You Prefer a Milder Comedian Please Ask For One)

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	Stewart Lee: If You Prefer a Milder Comedian Please Ask For One
Date:	14/08/09 (383 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Still on top form, pushing the boundaries of stand-up.

Disadvantages: A lot of it feels familiar.

Stewart Lee continues to demonstrate why he's one of the greatest living stand-ups. Voted the 41st Best Stand Up Ever a couple of years ago in a meaningless poll that the performer amusingly took to heart, Lee's rise from quite-good nineties comedian to stand-up virtuoso has come with an inverse desire for less attention and less showy venues. This year's Edinburgh Fringe show sees him return to the traditional comedy club environment of the Stand, publicised by a minimal campaign using only the most negative publicity accrued over the years.

Even without his recent TV series, Stewart Lee's name carries a lot of weight in the comedy world, and he could sell out the Stand no matter what. Something that's now been proven, as the leading critical quote on his poster courtesy of the Birmingham Sunday Mercury, states:

"His whole tone is one of complete, smug condescension."

You might hate it, but if you do, you're stupid. This isn't some kind of 'Emperor's New Clothes' thing.

Since his triumphal return to stand-up in 2004 following the Jerry Springer: The Opera debacle, Stewart Lee has consistently pushed the boundaries of the stand-up form. Each year's show of brand new material manages to live up to the last with comforting accuracy, and all contain surprises even for the obsessive devote. 2007's show was remarkably pleasant after the anger of its predecessor, 2008 had some eggs in it, and Lee's new show, titled If You Prefer a Milder Comedian, Please Ask for One, is the most surprising yet. But if I told you why, it wouldn't be a surprise.

Basing his premise on Frankie Boyle's recent observation that there are no funny comedians over the age of forty, forty-one-year-old Lee sets out to prove that old men can still get angry about things, even if that anger tends to be more directed towards high street coffee chains, city people moving to the country and Mark Watson's pear cider advertisement. A routine about Top Gear presenters goes so far beyond decency that it couldn't even be considered libellous, and the unexpected finale seeks to break down the last taboo of stand-up in remarkable style.

Watching Stewart Lee perform is like watching a chess grandmaster, as jokes and routines are played far in advance, only to resolve in spectacularly unexpected fashion at a later stage. Not that there's always a need for a punchline when a well-timed silence does just as well. But this isn't to say that Lee is averse to relying on tried-and-tested formulas, as amidst the new directions, fans can still expect the comedian to deconstruct his own material from the onset; to suffer a mental breakdown; to repeat a phrase until it loses all meaning, and to go on for far too long with one idea.

Summary: Stewart Lee at the Stand.