Comedy review: Alice Snedden

Self-Titled is the debut solo show, requested, written, performed and presented by Alice Snedden. Photo / Comedy Festival NZ

In her first ever debut stand up show, Alice Snedden's dry humour delivers a slow but steady stream of laughs.

A Snort stalwart, Snedden's years of improv prepare her well for off the cuff - or possibly convincingly-casual rehearsed lines - quips depending on how the audience takes a joke.

One of the biggest laughs was her faux-scolding of the audience giggling over a description of putting on her "nip covs" (nipple covers) while going braless to a wedding. "Can we all just be adults about this please?".

When performing with Snort, Snedden's more reserved style of humour created a great foil for the mad energy of the improv group. I sometimes wished there was a bit more of that energy in her show.

Snedden is best when she is exploring the oddities of her childhood: her weird mum, the Outward bound experience she refused to learn anything from, her self consciousness over lopsided breasts as a teenager.

A lot of Snedden's material does stray into well-worn female comedian territory, which Snedden herself acknowledges.

Breasts, periods and her relationship with her mother all feature in the material, but the context she puts those familiar topics in is weird enough that it doesn't feel stale.

An experienced performer, Snedden has the crowd on side all night and it's exciting to think how good she will be in a couple of years.

The first night sold out and tickets for tonight's show are selling fast, so get in quick if you want to catch her at the Basement. Her last night is Saturday.