Blistering and absurd, Lee’s newest show is truly hilarious and contains a lot of really interesting questions about the nature of comedians in today’s society, but left me feeling like the concept was not as deeply explored as it could have been. Lee worked the crowd effortlessly, through comments on people filming and phone alarms going off, as well as questioning specific members of the audience: would they prefer to be a vampire or a werewolf? This question, the answers providing laughs for Lee himself as well as the audience, also tied into the deeper topic of the show.
Does a werewolf need to take responsibility for its actions? If it becomes a beast at the sight of the full moon, why should the person inside be blamed for the consequences of what they do as a wolf? This was a really interesting metaphor for these far right comedians Lee focused on: their comedy personas mock transgender people, disabled people, making cheap jokes that reaffirm their audience’s prejudices. Should they take responsibility for their effect on the real world, or is it ‘just a joke’?
The first act was very good, with Lee hitting the mark on a lot of current issues as well as just being really funny. The second act began with the Man-Wulf: Lee’s far right ‘six million dollar Netflix special’ alter ego, who took parts of his routine from the first act and twisted it into cheap digs and ‘alpha male’ content. The aim of this was a satire on these far right comedians, and it did hit the mark, but only for a few moments – as soon as it began it was over. For the main crux of the show, the far right werewolf appeared only for a few minutes and it felt like he had run out of ideas for the segment quite fast. Once it was over, Lee went back to himself, which was, of course, funny, but I spent most of that part wondering why he was still wearing the costume, as the topic seemed to have little to do with it.
This soon made sense, though, as Lee began his second transformation of the night, into the left wing Man-Wulf: the alpha male of the progressive alternative comedy set. This mirrored his right wing structure, but these cheap digs and commentary were now made with Elon Musk and the far right figures of America as the targets. This was entertaining and interesting, exploring the idea of the ‘sensitive woke left’ by Lee proclaiming himself as the brusque, offensive herald of left wing politics.
The tech for this show was amazing, the lighting especially: it was well utilised to create different moods for Lee’s different segments, and looked great. The costumes as well added a lot, the wolf costume (complete with tiny penis to show the ‘sexual inadequacy of the far right’) being especially impressive. This was a very well produced show, and the technical elements complemented Lee’s performance successfully.
This was a great and interesting show that was both funny while still managing to question difficult topics. I would have liked to see more time gone to the comical right wing werewolf, but apart from that the show’s concept was well-realised and entertaining.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Stewart Lee vs the Man-Wulf played at the Lyceum Theatre on April 1st, & is touring the U.K. until November 19th
