Stewart Lee- 90s Comedian
I've been meaning to watch 90s Comedian on DVD for absolutely ages and have only just gotten round to it. Stewart Lee's 2005 show was highly acclaimed by critics and Steve Bennett of Chortle.co.uk recently considered it to be the most memorable performance he'd seen in the last ten years. I'm not sure whether it warrants such strong praise, although I am admittedly witnessing the show outside of its original context. 90s Comedian is basically Lee's response to the furore that arose when Christian Voice launched mass protests against the musical Jerry Springer: The Opera, which he co-wrote.
Lee establishes this situation (which led to four years of work no longer being financial viable) by employing repetition and the same languid pace of delivery that have become the hallmarks of his style. A highlight of the first section of the show is Lee's vivid description of undergoing an endoscopy which drifts brilliantly into a discussion about Joe Pasquale and gag theft . This culminates with Lee writing a joke that Joe Pasquale can't steal, tearing him apart with subtlety, if such a thing is possible.
After this, Lee really begins to hit his stride. Inspired by the historical activities of the French clowns of Languedoc, he draws a chalk circle on the stage before launching an assault on Christianity, describing Catholicism as 'my favourite form of clandestine global evil'. This is a carefully considered performance, as he gradually increases the offensiveness of his material and thereby increasing the awkwardness and tension amongst the audience. During a drunken hallucination, he draws comparisons between himself and Jesus and mischievously plays with the notion that he might be the second coming of Christ.
The show culminates in a wonderfully drawn out routine where Lee describes himself repeatedly vomiting before violating the bond of trust between a performer and his audience. He does so by asking them to first envisage him vomiting into Jesus's mouth and finally (and most horrifically) into 'the gaping anus of Christ' . The point is clear. Christian Voice's persecution of him and all involved with Jerry Springer: The Opera had forced him into protecting his rights through constructing a section of material that went beyond reasonable limits of taste and decency. It is indeed not a routine which Joe Pasquale would be able to steal. A defence of free speech and civil liberties in the face of religious pressures, 90s Comedian is undoubtedly a triumph.
Lee establishes this situation (which led to four years of work no longer being financial viable) by employing repetition and the same languid pace of delivery that have become the hallmarks of his style. A highlight of the first section of the show is Lee's vivid description of undergoing an endoscopy which drifts brilliantly into a discussion about Joe Pasquale and gag theft . This culminates with Lee writing a joke that Joe Pasquale can't steal, tearing him apart with subtlety, if such a thing is possible.
After this, Lee really begins to hit his stride. Inspired by the historical activities of the French clowns of Languedoc, he draws a chalk circle on the stage before launching an assault on Christianity, describing Catholicism as 'my favourite form of clandestine global evil'. This is a carefully considered performance, as he gradually increases the offensiveness of his material and thereby increasing the awkwardness and tension amongst the audience. During a drunken hallucination, he draws comparisons between himself and Jesus and mischievously plays with the notion that he might be the second coming of Christ.
The show culminates in a wonderfully drawn out routine where Lee describes himself repeatedly vomiting before violating the bond of trust between a performer and his audience. He does so by asking them to first envisage him vomiting into Jesus's mouth and finally (and most horrifically) into 'the gaping anus of Christ' . The point is clear. Christian Voice's persecution of him and all involved with Jerry Springer: The Opera had forced him into protecting his rights through constructing a section of material that went beyond reasonable limits of taste and decency. It is indeed not a routine which Joe Pasquale would be able to steal. A defence of free speech and civil liberties in the face of religious pressures, 90s Comedian is undoubtedly a triumph.
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