A commission by Fuel Theatre, as part of their WHILE YOU WAIT... series of podcasts. Listen here.

This work was adapted for Four Thought, on BBC Radio 4, in May 2015. Listen to this version here.

While You Wait is a series of podcasts, each of which is a different meditation on the idea of waiting created by artists in collaboration with academic from King's College London, produced by Fuel. Artist Brian Lobel says: "For the "While You Wait" series, I thought it would be cheeky and subversive to write “Waiting... for a Cancer Diagnosis” and to try to put into practice some of the thinking that I have done in the past 12 years since I was diagnosed, treated and cured of testicular cancer. Because I have spent so much time working as a professional cancer patient - performing my personal patient narrative as well as creating work about how cancer patients exist in public space - I thought that the podcast would be able to be both simple, personal and profound. I wanted to make something that was well-researched, built in consultation with a professional, and that was a bit funny, sexy and political. I wanted and expected it to be easy, especially as I've thought about this subject for so long. Of course, the moment one agrees to write “Waiting... for a Cancer Diagnosis”, suddenly, karmically, it happens. The bump. And the theoretical ideas you have about what you would do while you wait seem like a distant memory. This bump is not a metaphor, or an idea: this bump is serious." More about Brian... "I create performances about bodies: politicized bodies, marginalized bodies, dancing and singing bodies, happy bodies, sick bodies and bodies that need a little extra love. After being sick as a young adult, I became fascinated with unique bodily experience and how it is conceived, discussed and witnessed by others, leading me directly into my current performance practice. While the work takes many different forms — installation, stage shows, cabaret, interactive performance and publications — each project is keenly interested in how you (the audience) relate both to me and to others. To do this, I combine my intimate stories with grander public narratives (about illness, technology, nationalism, economy, sexuality and more) in an attempt to show that we are all in this together. The work playfully inspires audiences to consider the world around them with renewed vigor, generosity, reflection and an insatiable desire to engage with others." Image: Sheila Burnett

A video about my collaboration with Iain Purdue, a Research Worker in the Psychology Department at King's College London is here.

Waiting... for a cancer diagnosis by writer and performer Brian Lobel, in collaboration with Iain Perdue, a Research Worker in the Psychology Department at King's College London. Brian Lobel creates performances about bodies: politicized bodies, marginalized bodies, dancing and singing bodies, happy bodies, sick bodies and bodies that need a little extra love. After being sick as a young adult, he became fascinated with unique bodily experience and how it is conceived, discussed and witnessed by others, leading him directly into his current performance practice. While the work takes many different forms — installation, stage shows, cabaret, interactive performance and publications — each project is keenly interested in how you (the audience) relate both to him and to others. To do this, he combines his intimate stories with grander public narratives (about illness, technology, nationalism, economy, sexuality and more) in an attempt to show that we are all in this together. The work playfully inspires audiences to consider the world around them with renewed vigor, generosity, reflection and an insatiable desire to engage with others. www.blobelwarming.com Iain Perdue is a Research Worker in the Psychology Department at King's College London. Of his podcast Brian writes: For the "While You Wait" series, I thought it would be cheeky and subversive to write "Waiting... for a Cancer Diagnosis" and to try to put into practice some of the thinking that I have done in the past 12 years since I was diagnosed, treated and cured of testicular cancer. Because I have spent so much time working as a professional cancer patient - performing my personal patient narrative as well as creating work about how cancer patients exist in public space - I thought that the podcast would be able to be both simple, personal and profound. I wanted to make something that was well-researched, built in consultation with a professional, and that was a bit funny, sexy and political. I wanted and expected it to be easy, especially as I've thought about this subject for so long. Of course, the moment one agrees to write "Waiting... for a Cancer Diagnosis", suddenly, karmically, it happens. The bump. And the theoretical ideas you have about what you would do while you wait seem like a distant memory. This bump is not a metaphor, or an idea: this bump is serious.

While You Wait for a Cancer Diagnosis is created in collaboration with research Kip Purdue and looks at the liminal space between a bump and a hard place.

“For the “While You Wait” series, I thought it would be cheeky and subversive to write “Waiting… for a Cancer Diagnosis” and to try to put into practice some of the thinking that I have done in the past 12 years since I was diagnosed, treated and cured of testicular cancer. Because I have spent so much time working as a professional cancer patient – performing my personal patient narrative as well as creating work about how cancer patients exist in public space – I thought that the podcast would be able to be both simple, personal and profound. I wanted to make something that was well-researched, built in consultation with a professional, and that was a bit funny, sexy and political. I wanted and expected it to be easy, especially as I’ve thought about this subject for so long.
Of course, the moment one agrees to write “Waiting… for a Cancer Diagnosis”, suddenly, karmically, it happens. The bump. And the theoretical ideas you have about what you would do while you wait seem like a distant memory. This bump is not a metaphor, or an idea: this bump is serious.”