Jen Brister. Copyright: Idil Sukan
Jen Brister: Waves

Jen Brister: Waves

  • Radio stand-up
  • BBC Radio 4
  • 2022
  • 1 episode

The debut Radio 4 stand-up special from Jen Brister.

Key details

Genre
Stand-Up
Broadcast
2022
Channel
BBC Radio 4
Episodes
1
Star
Jen Brister
Writer
Jen Brister
Producer
Lianne Coop
Company

The past year or so has not been kind to anyone, but for Jen Brister it has been fraught even by lockdown standards. The (non-biological) mother of young, entitled, noisy twin boys - as documented in her successful book The Other Mother - has been trapped in the maelstrom of extreme parenting, her explosive and sharp-tongued wit silenced by the chopping up of vegetables and the whir of the washing machine.

But Jen has found an unusual refuge from all this strain: sea swimming. In the almost always freezing waters of the English Channel, she has found herself not just physically but also mentally freed from the unusual pressures of the present situation. Despite being instinctively resistant to concepts like 'mindfulness' and 'living in the moment', this acid-tongued comic has - against her own will, and accidentally - embraced them. 'Swimming has become my constant. Well, that and drinking. But, anyway, let's get back to the swimming'.

Recording for Jen's Radio 4 solo show debut, one of our most high-octane comedians vents a year's worth of stand-up spleen upon an audience in her home town of Brighton - and then shakes off those frustrations by taking us (figuratively) deep-sea swimming. A comic voyage of self-discovery, but also a surprisingly profound examination of the relationship between body and mind.

Catch-up

Additional details

Production
Event

Broadcast details

First broadcast
Sunday 5th June 2022 at 7:15pm on BBC Radio 4
Episode length
30 minutes
Most recent repeats
  • Saturday 11th June 2022 at 5:30am on Radio 4 Extra
  • Friday 10th June 2022 at 10:00pm on Radio 4 Extra
  • Friday 10th June 2022 at 5:30pm on Radio 4 Extra

Recording details

  • Ironside Works (Brighton)

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