The notion of status has always been crucial to Stewart Lee’s stand-up, whether it be his place in the world or how he interacts with his audience.
Anyone who’s read the annotated transcripts of his shows knows the attention he pays to subtly ensuring he is always on the back foot. Despite critical acclaim and a fan base substantial enough to finally offer him financial security, he needs to be the underdog battling against perceived injustices.
Tornado/Snowflake addresses this obsession more explicitly than any of his previous shows, even 41st Best Stand Up Ever which made status its title. Lee’s focus with the new show is tighter and closer to home, after a long battle with the big concepts of Brexit.
In the first half, the comic first lowers his standing though sardonic grumbles about his physical decay – growing greyer, fatter and more deaf in the two years since his last show. Ageing may be a comic staple, but Lee expresses the indignities beautifully.
Then he turns to to the gap between his hard-earned artistic kudos and his lesser commercial standing, overshadowed by big-budget comedians on Netflix – a platform which cannot even offer the right blurb of his Content Provider series, instead using the breathless description of the preposterous B-movie Sharknado.
In the second half, it’s his place in the cultural landscape that’s under consideration, as a politically-correct liberal in a mainstream kicking back against such inclusive values.
The evening has been billed as two separate shows, but each half is thematically so similar, they can be considered as one – not least because some of the comedians with the biggest streaming deals are those with the least moral scruples.
Names are named as righteous complaints exaggerate into the viciously rancorous, from Jimmy Carr’s callous material to Josh Widdecombe’s shallowness.
Needless to say Ricky Gervais gets a kicking both before and after the interval, for so successfully monetising a fake victimhood, complaining on a global platform that he’s being silenced by the snowflake liberals. Lee isn’t the only comic who needs to play the underdog…
Here his tortured anguish as he strains to embody that idea of an edgelord comic literally ‘saying the unsayable’ is a powerfully ridiculous performance, made stronger by the commitment in both time and energy to the piece, way beyond the point most comics would have given up.
That’s always been his shtick, of course, and it is overused almost to the point of self-parody in the first half as he repeats the false description of his work on Netflix with varying emphasis. It’s not the only part Tornado that feels a little like Lee uncharacteristically retreading old topics, even if his execution and the detail in structuring the threads into a coherent and rewarding show is rarely matched.
He’s on slightly unadventurous ground, too, when he closes part one with an Alan Bennett parody. It is well-done – dubious soft Yorkshire accent notwithstanding – but a relatively simple conceit for Lee. Far better is the literary parody in the second half, with Enid Blyton’s non-PC work being skewered with more pointed vigour.
Indeed, Snowflake is probably the stronger half, from its an ironic shaggy-dog story about a spider bit, his piss-take of the Bernard Manning style of comedy, a sarcasm-laden response to Tony Parsons’s unnuanced criticism of his use of ‘the c-word’, and an ever-more ridiculous examples of the phrase ‘political correctness gone mad’ being misunderstood by his elderly gran.
Throughout, Lee mixes stubborn professional jealousy with more justifiable complaints. His takedown of Phoebe Waller-Bridge is pure iconoclasm, playfully mocking the heroine-worship that’s built up around her. And Dave Chapelle – a comic with some questionable content – is instead mocked for his ostentatious Hollywood ego, although the real joke is the way Lee’s own, more troubled, ego fails to cope with the arrogant interloper.
Although the broad sweeps of Lee’s work take in familiar liberal arguments, there’s a weight and a detail that provides substantial food for thought. As with so much of his work, it’s the sort of comedy that you’ll recall days or weeks after the gig as situations he describes re-present themselves. Or if you sit down for some shark-based movie action.
Syhr, breakbeat.co.uk
Syhr, breakbeat.co.uk
Zombie Hamster, Twitter
Zombie Hamster, Twitter
Stokeylitfest, Twitter
Stokeylitfest, Twitter
Aaron, comedy.co.uk
Aaron, comedy.co.uk
Someoneyoudon'tknow, Chortle.com
Someoneyoudon'tknow, Chortle.com
Anonymous, don'tstartmeoff.com
Anonymous, don'tstartmeoff.com
Meninblack, Twitter
Meninblack, Twitter
Gwaites, Digitalspy
Gwaites, Digitalspy
Borathigh5, Youtube
Borathigh5, Youtube
Mini-x2, readytogo.net
Mini-x2, readytogo.net
Lancethrustworthy, Youtube
Lancethrustworthy, Youtube
Mrdavisn01, Twitter
Mrdavisn01, Twitter
Meanstreetelite, Peoplesrepublicofcork
Meanstreetelite, Peoplesrepublicofcork
12dgdgdgdgdgdg, Youtube
12dgdgdgdgdgdg, Youtube
Tres Ryan, Twitter
Tres Ryan, Twitter
Danazawa, Youtube
Danazawa, Youtube
Genghis McKahn, Guardian.co.uk
Genghis McKahn, Guardian.co.uk
Esme Folley, Actress, cellist, Twitter
Esme Folley, Actress, cellist, Twitter
Chez, Chortle.com
Chez, Chortle.com
BBC iPlayer edition of discussion of Stewart Lee on A Good Read
BBC iPlayer edition of discussion of Stewart Lee on A Good Read
Aiden Hearn, Twitter
Aiden Hearn, Twitter
Johnny Kitkat, dontstartmeoff.com
Johnny Kitkat, dontstartmeoff.com
Yukio Mishima, dontstartmeoff.com
Yukio Mishima, dontstartmeoff.com
Pirate Crocodile, Twitter
Pirate Crocodile, Twitter
Liam Travitt, Twitter
Liam Travitt, Twitter
Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
Horatio Melvin, Twitter
Horatio Melvin, Twitter
Guest, Dontstartmeoff.com
Guest, Dontstartmeoff.com
Sam Rooney, Youtube
Sam Rooney, Youtube
Joe, Independent.co.uk
Joe, Independent.co.uk
Tin Frog, Twitter
Tin Frog, Twitter
Bosco239, youtube
Bosco239, youtube
Whoiscuriousgeorge, Youtube
Whoiscuriousgeorge, Youtube
DVDhth's grandparents, Twitter
DVDhth's grandparents, Twitter
Anamatronix, Youtube
Anamatronix, Youtube
Cyberbloke, Twitter
Cyberbloke, Twitter
General Lurko 36, Guardian.co.uk
General Lurko 36, Guardian.co.uk
Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
Rudeness, Youtube
Rudeness, Youtube
Lucinda Locketts, Twitter
Lucinda Locketts, Twitter
Pudabaya, Twitter
Pudabaya, Twitter
Visualiser1, Twitter
Visualiser1, Twitter
Alwyn, Digiguide.tv
Alwyn, Digiguide.tv
Anonymous, The Northfield Patriot
Anonymous, The Northfield Patriot
NevW47479, UKTV.co.uk
NevW47479, UKTV.co.uk
Cojones2, Guardian.co.uk
Cojones2, Guardian.co.uk
Shane, Beverley, Dailymail.co.uk
Shane, Beverley, Dailymail.co.uk
Al Murray, Comedian
Al Murray, Comedian
Keilloh, Twitter
Keilloh, Twitter
Carla, St Albans, Dailymail.co.uk
Carla, St Albans, Dailymail.co.uk
FBC, finalgear.com
FBC, finalgear.com
Fowkes81, Twitter
Fowkes81, Twitter
Dave Wilson, Chortle.com
Dave Wilson, Chortle.com
Sidsings000, Youtube
Sidsings000, Youtube
Jamespearse, Twitter
Jamespearse, Twitter
Rowing Rob, Guardian.co.uk
Rowing Rob, Guardian.co.uk
Anon, BBC Complaints Log
Anon, BBC Complaints Log
Brighton Argus
Brighton Argus
Ishamayura Byrd, Twitter
Ishamayura Byrd, Twitter
Iain, eatenbymissionaries
Iain, eatenbymissionaries
Leach Juice, Twitter
Leach Juice, Twitter
Peter Ould, Youtube
Peter Ould, Youtube
Pudabaya, beexcellenttoeachother.com
Pudabaya, beexcellenttoeachother.com
Anon, dontstartmeoff.com
Anon, dontstartmeoff.com
Peter Fears, Twitter
Peter Fears, Twitter
Peter Ould, Twitter
Peter Ould, Twitter
Coxy, Dontstartmeoff.com
Coxy, Dontstartmeoff.com
Robert Gavin, Twitter
Robert Gavin, Twitter
Len Firewood, Twitter
Len Firewood, Twitter
Anon, westhamonline.com
Anon, westhamonline.com
Microcuts 22, Twitter
Microcuts 22, Twitter
Pnethor, pne-online.com
Pnethor, pne-online.com
Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph
Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph
Cabluigi, Guardian.co.uk
Cabluigi, Guardian.co.uk
Tweeterkiryakou, Twitter
Tweeterkiryakou, Twitter
Henry Howard Fun, Twitter
Henry Howard Fun, Twitter
Dahoum, Guardian.co.uk
Dahoum, Guardian.co.uk
Joskins, Leeds Music Forum
Joskins, Leeds Music Forum
Brendon, Vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk
Brendon, Vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk
Lents, redandwhitekop.com
Lents, redandwhitekop.com
Karen Laidlaw, Edfringe. com.
Karen Laidlaw, Edfringe. com.
Spanner, dontstartmeoff.com
Spanner, dontstartmeoff.com
Richard Herring, Comedian
Richard Herring, Comedian
Guest1001, Youtube
Guest1001, Youtube
Bobby Bhoy, Twitter
Bobby Bhoy, Twitter
Stuart, Chortle
Stuart, Chortle
Dick Socrates, Twitter
Dick Socrates, Twitter
Funday’schild, youtube.
Funday’schild, youtube.
Birmingham Sunday Mercury
Birmingham Sunday Mercury
Alex Quarmby, Edfringe.com
Alex Quarmby, Edfringe.com
Rubyshoes, Twitter
Rubyshoes, Twitter
Fairy Pingu, Twitter
Fairy Pingu, Twitter
Mpf1947, Youtube
Mpf1947, Youtube
Neva2busy, dontstartmeoff.com
Neva2busy, dontstartmeoff.com
Gabrielle, Chortle.com
Gabrielle, Chortle.com
John Robins, Comedian
John Robins, Comedian
98rosjon, Twitter
98rosjon, Twitter
Wharto15, Twitter
Wharto15, Twitter
Frankie Boyle, Comedian
Frankie Boyle, Comedian
Secretdeveloper, Youtube
Secretdeveloper, Youtube
Deepbass, Guardian.co.uk
Deepbass, Guardian.co.uk
GRTak, finalgear.com
GRTak, finalgear.com
James Dellingpole, Daily Telegraph
James Dellingpole, Daily Telegraph
Joycey, readytogo.net
Joycey, readytogo.net
Gmanthedemon, bbc.co.uk
Gmanthedemon, bbc.co.uk
World Without End, Twitter
World Without End, Twitter
Jackmumf, Twitter
Jackmumf, Twitter
Kozzy06, Youtube
Kozzy06, Youtube
Maninabananasuit, Guardian.co.uk
Maninabananasuit, Guardian.co.uk
Sweeping Curves, Twitter
Sweeping Curves, Twitter
Idrie, Youtube
Idrie, Youtube
Lenny Darksphere, Twitter
Lenny Darksphere, Twitter
Contrapuntal, Twitter
Contrapuntal, Twitter
Etienne, Chortle.com
Etienne, Chortle.com
Mearecate, Youtube
Mearecate, Youtube
Tweeter Kyriakou, Twitter
Tweeter Kyriakou, Twitter
A D Ward, Twitter
A D Ward, Twitter
Slothy Matt, Twitter
Slothy Matt, Twitter
Shit Crit, Twitter
Shit Crit, Twitter
Foxfoxton, Youtube
Foxfoxton, Youtube
Lee Mack, Mack The Life, 2012
Lee Mack, Mack The Life, 2012
Z-factor, Twitter.
Z-factor, Twitter.
Tokyofist, Youtube
Tokyofist, Youtube
Clampdown59, Twitter.
Clampdown59, Twitter.
Hiewy, Youtube
Hiewy, Youtube
Emilyistrendy, Youtube
Emilyistrendy, Youtube
Neolab, Guardian.co.uk
Neolab, Guardian.co.uk
Nicetime, Guardian.co.uk
Nicetime, Guardian.co.uk
Carcrazychica, Youtube
Carcrazychica, Youtube