...or is he?

Stewart Lee is to present a Radio 4 documentary about ‘unreliable narrators’ .

His hour-long show investigates those who have rewritten history and artists who create their own stories - and asks  what happens when the idea of manipulating the narrative leaves the world of entertainment and enters the world of politics.

Stewart Lee: Unreliable Narrator will also feature contributions from fellow comics Russell Kane, Rob Auton and Nish Kumar, in his role as a Bob Dylan expert. 

In his latest Observer column, Lee told how he visited the British Library as part of his research to examine an original manuscript of Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th-century History of the Kings of Britain, which he called ‘an incredible and unearned privilege that somehow landed in my unworthy lap as a result of more than three decades of making sarcastic jokes about politicians, road signs and rap singers’.

He said the historian - who is largely responsible for the enduring Arthurian legends – rewrote history to ‘support the values and imperial ambitions of the Henry I administration’. But nevertheless created a ‘poetic truth’ rather than a literal one.

Others taking part in Lee’s documentary - which airs on Radio 4 on Saturday June 12 at 8pm are mediaevalist Dr Hetta Howes, writer and critic Jennifer Hodgson, political commentator Nesrine Malik, poet Emily Berry and filmmaker Ben Rivers.

Published: 3 Jun 2021