We Like Books Too

We love stand up comedienne Josie Long. However, we don't think she's particularly funny. At least that was our impression from the time we last saw her play at Soho Theatre where she is about to start a new residency that will run from 28th November 2007 until 15th December 2007.

Josie is to the world of stand up comedy what Belle and Sebastian are to Ozzfest. She has none of the nastiness, overt anger and bitterness that infect the work of so many comedians. When we saw her she had a knitting accomplice who spent the duration of the show knitting a prize for a lucky audience member at the side of the stage. Meanwhile Josie showed off her home-made comics, gave away badges and discussed her love of the film Rushmore.

We wanted to hug her but, curiously, she wasn't actually all that funny. The jokes were often quite tame and predictable. The enjoyment came simply from being in her company as she made us feel a little bit better about the state of the world around us. Meanwhile, many people disagree with our assessment. A certain London listings magazine are obsessed with her and she won the if.comeddies Newcomer Award in 2006. It could just be that we saw her on a bad night.

She claims that her brand new show "will inspire people to talk to each other on public transport" which can only be a good thing so we'll definitely be giving her another chance. We guarantee you'll leave her shows in a good mood and hopefully with a touch of the giggles as well.

He May Or May Not Be Jesus. There's No Way Of Knowing

It's difficult to emphasise just how emphatically artslondon admires the comedian Stewart Lee. It's got to the extent where, every time a classic set by Bill Hicks or Richard Pryor is released on DVD, artslondon watches it only to be re-affirmed in our belief that Stewart Lee is up there with the best of them.We consider ourselves to be un-shockable but In 2005, artslondon was so affected by seeing Stewart Lee live, performing his set "90s Comedian" that we staggered gasping out of the Soho Theatre afterwards, gagging for air, wondering at what we'd just seen. Lee had just managed to lay a full scale frontal assault on Jesus Christ himself. With Jerry Springer The Opera, it was very much a case of"what's all the fuss about, that isn't offensive at all, unless you have no sense of irony". With '90s Comedian, that certainly wasn't possible. You can't perform jokes about vomiting into the gaping anus of Jesus Christ without legitimately upsetting people.

There was a point to it all of course. What makes Stewart Lee gigs so great is that there is always a hidden narrative behind what you're seeing. The '90s Comedian set was as much about the process of writing comedy and attacking lazy comedians as it was about the War on Terror or Christianity.

At a more recent, gig, in a 20 minute slot, we were rather underwhelmed by Lee's current set. But we're willing to give it another go because it's Stewart Lee and because he's a comedian whose sets don't work particularly well when rushed. Lee will be performing at the Soho Theatre from tonight until Christmas. Most of the early dates are sold out but there are still places available for the December performances which can be purchased here.