Alison Spittle @ Monkey Barrel at The Hive

In her new show Soup, Alison Spittle cooks up a hearty broth that lacks a little flavour

Review by Yasmin Hackett | 11 Aug 2023
  • Alison Spittle

Alison Spittle loves soup. So much so, she unwittingly found herself in a WhatsApp group chat dedicated to the warming liquidy good stuff. Spittle’s joyfully earnest love for something as simple as soup is just one of the many things to like about her.

A move from Dublin to London has helped Spittle reassess some of her more traumatic experiences, several which are in need of some attention. Though she’s spoken about some of these previously, in Soup she aims to share a new outlook with us, built up through reflection and therapy. Spittle’s delivery is offhand but candid as she shares new mental health diagnoses as a result of her experiences. Although it sounds like heavy stuff, it's treated with a light (though certainly not insincere) touch.

Things are made worse for Spittle by the cost of living crisis limiting her ability to treat her mental health struggles through self-care; though it's a means of treatment she's still often sceptical about. Don't worry though, because Spittle has an alternative to the traditional face mask – however, it involves more processed ham than you might have imagined.

Spittle covers a lot of material over the course of Soup, through a mixture of storytelling (which is when she's at her finest) and observation. The show darts from one subject to the next, meaning it’s sometimes hard to catch your breath and you're left feeling that what you're seeing is closer to a work-in-progress. A lengthy but still hilarious section about her sister's vodka-infused hen do at Butlins – and the subsequent wedding, which features a hypnotist, because of course – possibly deserves a better link to the rest of the material. Nevertheless, Spittle remains a safe pair of hands; warm and comforting like the meal she so admires.


, Monkey Barrel Comedy at The Hive (Hive 1), until 27 Aug (not 14), 1.25pm, £8-12/PWYW