Show Description:

Henry Normal and Dubliner Jan Brierton present an evening of poetry and laughs. Henry will be reading poems from his new book 'An Alphabet of Storms' whilst Jans' poems reflect on being a wife, mother, daughter, sister and retired raver. Expect a highly engaging evening.

 Henry Norml Bio:

Henry is a writer, poet, TV & Film producer, founder of the Manchester Poetry Festival (now the Literature
festival) and co-founder of the Nottingham Poetry Festival.

In June 2017 he was honoured with a special BAFTA for services to Television.
He co-wrote and script edited the multi-award winning Mrs Merton show and the spin off series Mrs Merton and Malcolm. He also co-created and co-wrote the first series of The Royle Family. With Steve Coogan he co-wrote the BAFTA winning Paul and Pauline Calf Video Diaries, Coogan's Run, Tony Ferrino, Doctor Terrible and all three of Steve's live tours and the film The Parole Officer.

Setting up Baby Cow Productions Ltd in 1990, Henry Executive Produced all and script edited many of the shows of it's 17 and a half year output during his tenure as MD.
Highlights of the Baby Cow output during his time include the Oscar nominated film Philomena, I believe in Miracles, Gavin and Stacey, Moone Boy, Uncle, Marion and Geof, Nighty Night, The Mighty Boosh, Red Dwarf, Hunderby, Camping and Alan Partridge.

Since retiring in April 2016, Henry has written and performed 10 x BBC Radio 4 shows combining comedy, poetry and stories about family. His 11th BBC Radio 4 show 'A Normal Journey' will be recorded this autumn.

Born in St Anne's, Nottingham in 1956, Henry now lives in Fairlight, Nr Hastings with his wife and screenwriter Angela Pell and their son Johnny.

In April 2018, Two Roads publishers released his book of memoirs 'A Normal Family' which was written with his wife Angela Pell, drawing on his family experience. It immediately became a best seller on Amazon and has already been reprinted. The paperback was released on 21st March 2019.

Henry performs poetry at Literature Festivals around the UK and has thirteen poetry books available from Flapjack. Most recent are 'Collected Poems Volume 3' which was released in 2023 and 'A Moonless Night ' in 2024.

He was recently given an honorary doctorate of letters by Nottingham Trent University, another by Nottingham
University and has a beer and a bus named after him in Nottingham.

Quotes:
Succinct, heartrending and peppered with gentle punchlines’ Hannah Verdier, The Guardian

Shove up National Treasures. We need to make room for Henry Normal"
Simon O'Hagan - Radio Times

'the Alan Bennett of poetry' The Scotsman

'Dovetails bittersweet poetry with a sublimely observant wit' The Guardian

'A mixture of the absurd and downright wacky...a gentle giant of stand-up poetry' The List
'The poetry itself is stuff of proper substance, marrying the suburban beauty of Beatles ballads with the blunt candour of the kitchen sink' The Guardian

"Witty and uncannily accurate with his observations" - The Stage
"Distinctly funny" - Time Out

It’s a rare and lovely thing: half an hour of radio that stops you short, gently demands your attention and then wipe your tears away while you have to have a little sit down - The Guardian

"It's a real treat to hear a seasoned professional like Henry taking command of this evening comedy spot to deliver a show that's idiosyncratic and effortlessly funny"

"Not heard anything that jumps from hilarious to moving in such an intelligent, subtle way as Henry Normal's show" - Radio Times

Jan Brierton Bio:

Dubliner Jan Brierton is a mam, a fashion stylist, and a poet.

Her first collection What Day Is It? Who Gives a F*ck was published in 2021 after Jan’s first ever poem went viral during lockdown.

Everybody Is a Poem: Midlife in Rhymes is Jan’s second collection published by New Island. 

In this pocket-sized book Jan riffs on menopause, midlife, the mental load, friendships, relationships, loss, and self-acceptance. 

On its release, Jan’s second collection made the top 10 paperback non-fiction book charts.

Plain-speaking and completely relatable, each of these 52 poems are served with Jan’s signature combination of humour, wit, and poignancy.

This is poetry for everybody.

Since the publication of her debut book, Jan has appeared on RTE Nationwide, TV3’s Six O Clock show, RTE Radio 1’s Brendan O Connor Show, Ray Darcy Show, 2Fm, 98FM, The Irish Times Women’s podcast and Mamia & Me with Amy Huberman. Jan’s poems have been shared on social media by Jo Whiley and Emma Barnett (BBC Women’s Hour) with over 30K views. 

Jan is the resident poet on the Ray Darcy Show on RTE Radio 1.

With her passion for keeping poetry accessible, Jan’s poems come to life with her engaging live performances. In May 2024 Jan opened with her poetry hero Dr John Cooper Clark in Dublin’s 3Olympia Theatre, where she debuted her homage to his world famous ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ with her modern love poem ‘You’ll Always Be For Me’ 

Jan’s live show Wild Words in Dublin’s Ambassador Theatre in Nov 24, celebrated the power of poetry and prose with Donna Ashworth, PJ Gallagher and Emmet Kirwan.

She has read her poems on The Word and Manifesto stages at Electric Picnic, The London Irish Centre, The Mutiny Theatre, St Annes Park Rose Festival, Five Lamps Arts Festival, Drogheda Arts Festival, Dublin City Libraries and the Liberties Festival. 

2025 saw Jan open for John Cooper Clark in The London Palladium, The Nottingham Royal Concert Hall and the Manchester Co-Op Arena in celebration of World Poetry Day.

Jan continues to write and perform alongside her mam duties and her career as a creative director and fashion stylist.

Instagram : @jbgoodtome   

Literary Agent: Faith O Grady at Lisa Richards faith@lisarichards.ie 

Live:  Eavan Kenny at Lisa Richards  eavan@lisarichards.ie