Stand-up comedian Stewart Lee (Honorary Fellow and alumnus of St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford) discusses the fantasy that stand-up comedy is spontaneous rather than written, and describes the evolution of stand-up over the last few decades. Stand-up comedian Stewart Lee (Honorary Fellow and alumnus of St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford) delivers a talk to students that he originally gave at 'A Celebration of Writing at the Hall', a day of talks, discussions and readings by alumni, current students and tutors at St Edmund Hall. Stewart discusses the fantasy that stand-up comedy is spontaneous rather than written, and describes the evolution of stand-up over the last few decades. His talk takes in a wide range of subjects from the first app he ever came across to a discussion of the value of culture in society.

On Not Writing

St Edmund Hall is a friendly, informal college with a strong sense of community; an excellent place for academic and social life. We admit about 115 undergraduates every year, evenly divided between sciences and arts, who bring a wide range of intellectual, sporting and other interests. We take a keen interest in students' careers: our Bridge to Business programme, funded by the generosity of a former student, is particularly popular.



We also have a strong commitment to graduate students and graduate study. Graduate students form an increasing proportion of the Hall and represent a diverse population of students from across the world studying a wide range of subjects.



With our roots in the early 13th century, we are the only medieval academic Hall to have survived. St Edmund Hall formally became a college on being granted a Royal Charter in 1957. Our architecture is a happy blend of ancient and modern. The library was the medieval church of St Peter-in-the-East, a large and beautiful building; much of the front quadrangle is 16th- and 17th-century; the remainder of our buildings are modern.



Our graduates include Terry Jones (of Monty Python), John Wells (co-founder of Private Eye), Anna Botting (Sky News journalist) and Dr Michael Nazir-Ali (former Bishop of Rochester).

Education

St Edmund Hall is a friendly, informal college with a strong sense of community; an excellent place for academic and social life. We admit about 115 undergraduates every year, evenly divided between sciences and arts, who bring a wide range of intellectual, sporting and other interests. We take a keen interest in students' careers: our Bridge to Business programme, funded by the generosity of a former student, is particularly popular. We also have a strong commitment to graduate students and graduate study. Graduate students form an increasing proportion of the Hall and represent a diverse population of students from across the world studying a wide range of subjects. With our roots in the early 13th century, we are the only medieval academic Hall to have survived. St Edmund Hall formally became a college on being granted a Royal Charter in 1957. Our architecture is a happy blend of ancient and modern. The library was the medieval church of St Peter-in-the-East, a large and beautiful building; much of the front quadrangle is 16th- and 17th-century; the remainder of our buildings are modern. Our graduates include Terry Jones (of Monty Python), John Wells (co-founder of Private Eye), Anna Botting (Sky News journalist) and Dr Michael Nazir-Ali (former Bishop of Rochester).

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On Not Writing

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