Joel Sanders spent much of his early career in the United States, working across the country with the aim of becoming the first British comedian to perform in all 50 states. He reached 40.

His journey took him from small-town bars in the Deep South to theatres and casinos, including a run of shows in Las Vegas, along the way sharing stages with some of his comedy heroes. But in 2008, after a show in Tennessee that didn’t go to plan, his American run came to an abrupt end.

Back in the UK, Sanders made a decision that would change his life completely—he bought a narrowboat. What began as an attempt to simplify things turned into something rather different.

“I thought it might be a quieter way of living,” he says. “It hasn’t quite worked out like that.”

For the past 18 years, Sanders has been living on the UK’s waterways, navigating the realities of life afloat—broken engines, practical challenges, and the gradual realisation that every lifestyle comes with its own complications.

Over time, those experiences became the basis of Angry Boater, a live show combining comedy and storytelling.

More recently, parts of his story reached a wider audience when he appeared on Channel 4’s Narrow Escapes, which followed his journeys on the waterways—including a 3 am trip taking his narrowboat onto the Bristol Channel.

“The TV version shows some of it,” Sanders says. “The live show is really everything else.”

Angry Boater explores what happens when you step away from a conventional life and try to do things differently—only to discover that the problems don’t disappear, they just change shape.