Review: Alice Brine: Brinestorm

Across the course of the Fringe you’ll see stand-ups use a range of different techniques to subtly take a much-needed breather. Alice Brine admits to never mastering the classic – a quick swig of water during a big laugh – but does have her own between-routine manoeuvre: just bending over and shoving her face into a fan. That sets the tone nicely.

The title isn’t just an obvious pun: Brine is one of several acts this year talking about ADHD, and she raises some interesting points about the gender imbalance, how girls’ behaviour is often written off as a you’ll-grow-out-of-it hormone issue. The New Zealander was eventually diagnosed in her teens, due to a spectacular incident involving a window, wallpaper, and weaponised nail polish. Something clearly wasn’t right.

Brinestorm is rough around the edges, but the big routines offer unique nuggets of comic gold. “They said to me: don’t use PowerPoint in your first show,” she reveals, but it definitely helps.

Perhaps appropriately, given the name, Brine had an ocean-related fixation, specifically a seafood platter Facebook account that went awry: it’s a visual feast. Her best-known bit about everyone being a particular rodent or vegetable makes a lot more sense when you can shout at the relevant celebrities, too.

This is a pleasingly unpolished debut from Brine. Who needs finesse when you’re all having fun?