Jen Brister is cynical, apathetic and demotivated. She professes to just love ‘showing off’ and that she’s not a ‘political’ comedian; she’s far happier yelling at the politicians on the TV and then going to have a lie down than actually doing anything about what makes her angry and fed up.
There are some cracking jokes about lesbian sex in particular
In fact, Brister has written a whole new show in which she unleashes those frustrations to savagely brilliant effect. She takes on the Daily Mail, UKIP, immigration, racism, democracy (or lack of it) with verve, passion and no small dose of sarcasm. Brister declares she is too old and tired for sex - she’d rather have a bacon sandwich - but she’s so exuberant on stage you find this difficult to believe.
Trying to work out how she’s ended up more interested in the opening hours of IKEA than trying to change the world, Brister looks back at her teenage years; traditionally fertile ground for comedy and so it proves here as Brister remembers a particularly excruciating few years as a result of excess body hair.
If you’ve seen Brister before, you’ll know that a show of hers wouldn’t be complete without an appearance from her Spanish mother, she of the strongest of accents and extra vowels in the strangest of places. You feel as though Brister could write a whole show featuring this passionately left-wing Mediterranean woman who can’t bear to hear the name ‘Thatcher’ and yet married a conservative Englishman. Wishful Thinking certainly doesn’t disappoint on this front and also sees Brister do a great take on the accents of her favourite Scandinavian drama series as well as a winning impression of a German lesbian she once met in a bar in Berlin.
Yes, the gay women will leave satisfied – there are some cracking jokes about lesbian sex in particular – but there’s also a particularly funny story involving the word penis and Brister strikes just the right balance with her material.
As Brister herself knows only too well, getting off one’s arse and making it out the front door can often be hard work. But if you make it to Wishful Thinking, Brister’s combination of hilarious impressions, political rants, astute observations and infectious energy will make you very glad you did.
