INTERVIEW: Stewart Lee, comedy for adults only
IF You Prefer A Milder Comedian, Please Ask For One is the provocative title for Stewart Lee's tour which brings the comedian to Worthing's Pavilion Theatre on Wednesday, October 7, at 8pm.
It's an adults-only show from the co-writer of Jerry Springer the Opera and comes inspired by an altercation in a high street coffee chain.
"In this show, an account of something that happened to me in a coffee shop will be used as a convenient framing device for disparate material possibly concerning English Heritage, Top Gear, The Olympics, emigration, prawns, Bella Pasta, The National Trust, farmers, D.H. Lawrence, piglets, cathedrals, bees, Iggy Pop, cider adverts, riots etc ., etc."
Yes, he will be getting a few things off his chest, refreshed from a quick pre-tour break in north Devon, grabbed in between his Edinburgh dates and hitting the road.
Improvisation
He will be gigging pretty much six nights a week now right through to March.
"It's the longest one that I have ever done," he says.
And to keep it fresh there will be the green lung of improvisation – though the things that work will find permanent homes in the show.
As Stewart says, it's Eddie Izzard who is the absolute master in that respect.
He gives the impression of delivering it off the top of his head.
In reality, it's deliberate.
The skill is in putting across that air of constant invention…
Performance
"The last four shows I have done have had beginning, middle and end, but in this one I will be leaving myself a lot more room to manoeuvre."
Just as well, given the vast array of venues he will be playing, everything from the big 800-seaters to theatres and halls considerably smaller.
It's live – and the size of the crowd is bound to shape the performance.
"With fewer people you can actually tone it down and it is like you are talking to friends."
It does work the other way.
Acclaim
His previous tour, entitled the 41st Best Stand-up Ever, was a jokey look at what he terms his relative professional failure compared to his critical acclaim.
When he was bemoaning his fate, it didn't sit quite so well when he was performing in a full-house 800-seater, he laughs.
As for the content this time, he will be looking at the things we can and can't say, for instance the anti-women, anti-homosexual things that the Top Gear presenters for some reason are allowed to get away with.
"I don't feel constrained personally", says Stewart.
But he makes the point that there has to be a point to what you are saying: "It's easier to justify it then."
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Monday 28 May 2012
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