A nice sense of anticipatory excitement in the Leicester Square Theatre tonight for a rare reunion of the 1990s double act Lee and Herring, though if the young stars of that show met the two greying middle-aged men who were on stage tonight they might not recognise themselves. The Go Faster Stripe team were down to capture the event on film (it's going to be an extra on the forthcoming release of series 2 of Fist of Fun, so you can contrast us then and now quite easily - out in the autumn) and the place was rammed. I feel a bit sorry for Stew, who is working mainly in the redundant 20th Century medium of television, so was hoping tonight might be a bit of a leg-up for him and give him a chance to make his way in the futuristic world of the podcast. I like to do what I can to help.
It was slightly odd to be interviewing someone who I knew so much about and I wondered where the conversation would go. I knew I wanted to find out his side of the being wanked off by a ventriloquist dummy incident and see if we could solve the mystery of who broke the kitchen cupboard doors in our Edinburgh flat in 2002 and of course I would need to quiz the BAFTA award winning comedian about self-fellatio. But I also knew that I'd be able to talk about more technical comedy stuff and probe him about the way that his own change in status has affected the character of Stewart Lee. He sees himself as two different people, which is the first step on the ladder to playing yourself at snooker in your basement. We grew in the same comedy womb and for both of us it's like we ingested our twin who occasionally emerges in our solo stuff.
It was quite a laid back vibe and generally a little bit more earnest and thoughtful than the other chats in the series. But one of the things I like about this format is how much the personality of the performer affects the mood. Although I few in a few "moon on sticks" and "businessman in his suit and ties" this was not really a reunion of the two characters from the 90s. There were some very funny bits, but I liked the bits that weren't funny too and the audience seemed to be hanging on every word, so I hope you'll enjoy it (it should be up on Tuesday after the football).
As Stew is a little deaf in one ear he asked if he could sit stage left, which is where I have sat in previous RHLSTPs (I sat stage right in the RHEFPs). This also meant we were the wrong way round for Lee and Herring. When we performed live I stood on the left (the right as you looked at us) and Stew had the right hand side of the stage. This wasn't something we consciously decided, but it was the way it always turned out. In Collings and Herrin I always sat on the right, and once when we accidentally switched sides things felt all wrong. I guess in a sexual relationship one side of the bed usually ends up being yours and there are some similarities with this. It might just be habit or superstition, but I wonder if in a comedy double act there is some kind of correlation. I don't know if being on the other side stopped us being Lee and Herring and made us Stewart Lee and Richard Herring or if the passing of years just meant the relationship was bound to be different. It wasn't bad different though.
In the past Stew sometimes seemed frustrated and angry about the way things were going (and there's nothing unusual about that - some have even said the same things about me!), but today he seemed content and to have things in perspective. I loved the way he looked at the fluctuating levels of "success" in his
post-BAFTA interview with Kate Thornton. And not just to see Kate Thornton out of her comfort zone. The juxtaposition of Kate Thornton and this level of philosophy makes it all the more sharp.
The time passed fast and I enjoyed being in the middle of this storm of calmness. We spent a lot of time together in the 1990s - too much time to be fair - and it's much more pleasant to see him every now and again. I am chatting to a lot of successful people on these podcasts and many of them seem to be on the verge of even greater success and it's fascinating to see how they cope with those changes and challenges. And whilst people expect me to envy Stewart (and being a human being occasionally I can feel a pang of disappointment or competitiveness), he absolutely deserves his position and has got to where he is without making compromises and in fact gives hope to all comedians and writers who want to do something a bit different that there is a chance it can work out. It's mainly false hope, due to the random nature of the way these things are decided, but it's good to know that there is some hope, even if it's fool's hope.
The podcast will be up soon in the usual places. And apparently Lee and Herring will be back together in the 2040s, so keep your diaries free for that.
These Leicester Square Theatre podcasts might be my favourite thing ever. There are more coming in the autumn, but one more this time round next week with Graham Linehan and Armando Iannucci.
