At Last! The 1981 Show, Royal Festival Hall, London ★★ - June 2011 The Independent - By Julian Hall - June 2nd, 2011

The intention of this live slice of comedy history was to commemorate some of those who shaped a new comedy scene in Britain, but it served mainly as a reminder that “alternative comedy” was often not as funny as it thought it was. In character as the luvvie Nicholas Craig, Nigel Planer of The Young…

BACK TO THE PRESENT? - June 2011 Southwark News - By Michael Holland - June 1st, 2011

Something funny happened over the Bank Holiday weekend: I was walking down the Old Kent Road and heard a South London accent! Unbelievable. Even funnier was At Last! The 1981 Show, Stewart Lee and Paul Jackson’s attempt to recreate the buzz of thirty years ago when alternative comedy was about to explode. They have persuaded…

At Last! The 1981 Show at the Royal Festival Hall - May 2011 Spoonfed - May 31st, 2011

The last time I went to a big comedy gala type evening was last year at the Edinburgh fringe. There were about twelve of the most popular current stand-ups all on the same bill, doing around eight minutes each, and I remember thinking at the time that many of them could have happily exchanged acts…

At Last! The 1981 Show was mostly terrific - May 2011 This Is London - By Bruce Dessau - May 31st, 2011

A weekend of events curated by Stewart Lee culminated in a spectacular nostalgiafest which dusted off some lovingly remembered and some long forgotten acts that inspired the young Lee. It was not all terrific but much was. Mostly, though, it was a reminder of how political, surreal and downright dangerous the original alternative comedy scene…

At Last The 1981 Show! The South Bank - May 2011 Chortle - By Corry Shaw - May 31st, 2011

Revisiting the past can be as painful as it can be nostalgic and this showcase of the most anarchic and cult punk comedians, assembled by Stewart Lee from the dawn of the alternative circuit, occasionally verged on excruciating. London’s South Bank Centre is a world removed from the smoky clubs where these comics first found…

At Last! The 1981 Show at the Festival Hall ★★★★ - May 2011 The TImes - By Clive Davis - May 30th, 2011

Now that comedy is part of the Establishment it is good to be reminded that there was a time when stand-ups were angry young men (and the occasional woman) banging on the window, demanding to be heard. Part of Stewart Lee’s Austerity Binge mini-festival, this gathering from the lost era of alternative comedy produced a…