Bridget Christie Minds The Gap

Radio Times review

Comedian Bridget Christie has done two Edinburgh shows and now two Radio 4 series on the state of feminism in Great Britain today. Her tone is vituperative as she acknowledges the shtick she takes for not changing the subject matter of her shows -- has the lot of women now so improved that sexism does not need questioning any more, she demands?

Her material ranges from new takes on the classic comedy sketch format to borderline rants. But her points are well made and what's not to like about her own, personal rape fantasy -- apparently all we women have them -- "more prosecutions and longer sentences"?

Bridget Christie set herself the task of making feminism funny (because "last year misogyny, like shiny leggings, made an unexpected comeback"). It's a tough gig. Christie was charming and balanced a fine line between polemicist and standup, but the material felt at times too obvious. Maybe I'm too jaded. Or maybe 11pm on a Thursday is a bizarre slot to sell this in. I just ended up wanting to like the show much more than I had.

Bridget Christie trying hard to make feminism funny

In Bridget Christie's new BBC Radio 4 series she attempts to make modern feminism joyous and funny. Katy Brand interviews her friend and fellow comedian about her latest challenge and the pitfalls of 'going mainstream', in this special Paper Tiger column to mark International Women's Day.

From the moment comedian Bridget Christie announces herself as an ideal woman for Islamic fundamentalists - "I haven't had an education and you can't see me" - the polemical tone of her act is made clear. And she does not fail to deliver, in either sabre-toothed satire on a society that thinks feminism is a dirty word or in above-and-below the belt punches at the violence, abuse and misogyny women experience around the world.

Fellow comedian Fred MacAulay plays all the male and one of the female characters needed to illustrate her points. Her husband gets some revealing shots fired at him, too, but as he is Stewart Lee he can probably handle it.

Bridget Christie: fun, feminism and the wind of change

With a radio show and TV roles coming up, it's time to get to know Bridget Christie.

Comedian Bridget Christie noticed last year that misogyny was back. Then she realised it had never gone away, as her mother could have told her. But, the BBC is sensitive to such fluctuations in gender recognition so she now has a four-part series to elaborate on her theory. To start, she asks why feminism became a dirty word (I'd say around the time of the arrival of The Spice Girls) and whether the modern British woman needs it. Oh come on, Bridget. Just because you can get a mortgage doesn't mean a single women could 40 years ago.