Stewart Lee’s new show Much A-Stew About Nothing is in classic Lee-style.

His comedy is not that of laugh-out-loud and a punchline with every sentence, but a more thought-out intricate story which often refers back to previous parts of the show.

Once delivered he would often painstakingly de-construct his joke, explaining its origins and essence and berating the audience for not getting it. The more he despairs at the audience the funnier it becomes. However, he purposefully opened with some dog jokes in a more traditional stand up style to get the audience warmed up before moving on to three of his thirty minute routines he is currently touring and tweaking for his forthcoming TV series.

In his cynical, ironic, world-weary, clever style, Lee picked apart the ridiculous and futile from UKIP to the London Mayor; from dogs and their owners to social media.

If you want quick, cheap and surreal jokes Lee is not the comedian for you. But if you like a jaded but clever scrutiny of the world today he is in his own words ‘there are no jokes, you have to buy into the ideas.’ Declaring he would rather a slow clap of agreement rather than a whooping cheer, if you didn’t know his style, you could be forgiven for thinking he had no interest in making people laugh but under it all he is a true comedian who knows his style and, in my opinion, is very funny indeed and by the audiences reaction, they agreed.

Jenny May