Stewart Lee

One of the golden rules of comedy is “if you have to explain a joke, it isn’t funny.”

It’s fair to say that whilst Stewart Lee is one of the most established comedians around, he isn’t a stickler for the rules. Lee doesn’t do panel shows, he’s never tried to fill the O2, he doesn’t seem to like his audience much and boy does he go to great lengths to explain his jokes.

How I Escaped My Certain Fate is the first of two volumes Lee has released that feature heavily annotated transcripts of his stand up shows.

In fact, heavily annotated is an understatement. On the average page, just a quarter will be taken up with a snippet of the show. The rest will be a lengthy footnote that stretches onto and devours the next page too.

(As an aside, I remember feeling very grown-up the first time I read a book that had footnotes. They said ‘sophistication’, ‘intelligence’ and  ‘academia’. Or rather, that’s the impression they left with me. I don’t actually remember what the footnotes were.

So How I Escaped My Certain Fate isn’t the most natural way to experience a stand up show, but it is a great read and an incredibly insightful glimpse behind the comedian’s curtain.

Lee doesn’t do one-liners or observational skits. His routine is built around a general cynicism and knowing dislike of everyone he comes into contact with – including his audience. He’s well known for lengthy repetition, holding imaginary conversations with himself and ending his shows curled up in a far corner of the stage rocking back and forth.

Not only is his style incredibly refreshing – and very funny – it’s the result of a hell of a lot of graft.

The annotations and footnotes reveal in great detail how much thought, hard work and fine-tuning goes into creating each show. What can seem like a very chaotic routine is a carefully mapped out voyage, expertly captained by Lee.

Whilst How I Escaped My Certain Fate is most likely to appeal to Lee’s loyal fanbase, I also think there’s plenty in it for those that aren’t fans or indeed, actively dislike him. Very few comedians would have the skill, patience or inclination to produce a similar tome, so if you’re after a sophisticated, intelligent and academic study of comedy, Lee is your man.

(A further volume is planned based on his BBC Two series, Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle. Given the publishing date has already slipped from last year to this autumn, one can only imagine it will again be a thoroughly rewarding read.)