Like Alison Spittle I love soup, the BT Tower and fresh strawberries.
Alison Spittle: Soup is an exploration of these things and more, touching on issues as serious as mental health and the cost of living crisis and as light hearted as hen dos.
The first part of the show talks about soup. A lot. I first knew of Alison from her appearance on the hit podcast by fellow comedians James Acaster and Ed Gamble, Off Menu, so this wasn’t a surprise to me. If you have listened to Alison’s episode of the podcast, some parts of this first routine may fall flat to you, as they did for me. This isn’t because it isn’t a good routine, more because if you’ve heard it before it isn’t quite strong enough to be really funny on the second listen.
Alison moves to talk about her experiences with CPTSD, complex post-traumatic stress disorder. It’s a widely known fact that many comedians suffer with their mental health, and Alison cleverly explores how comedians deal with trauma through standup. She also discusses how the cost of living crisis affects mental health, touching on the expensive rise of self care, and if the idea of self care is just popular because we like to buy presents for ourselves.
I really enjoyed listening to Alison talk about her beloved balcony and garden, and her experiences with planting and growing fruit and vegetables. She talks about how it has helped her and how much she enjoys this space, as well as how much she loves the BT Tower (relatable) which she can she from her balcony (jealous). It’s somewhat unusual in a standup show to have such a touching routine. This routine ends with Alison taking aim at the one person we all hate – landlords. Despite how so many parts of this show are somewhat emotional or intense, it manages to stay funny and sometimes laugh at itself.
My only other personal qualm is that the nightclub Hive must be one of the strangest places I’ve ever seen a standup show. If you are to go and see Alison Spittle: Soup, which you absolutely should, you must be prepared for the lingering smell of alcohol. Fortunately, the pay off is definitely worth it.
Alison Spittle: Soup is a touching exploration of a real range of subjects. Alison expertly handles emotional topics sensitively, and easily receives laughs. I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed the show. Alison is a soup-er stand up who really shines in this show.
Alison Spittle is on until August 27th (not 16th) at 1.25pm in Hive 1. Tickets are available here.
Image provided to The Student by Alison Spittle.