Interrupting herself, mid-story, to tell an audience member from the United States that the equivalent of the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) across the pond is the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) says a lot about Alex Stringer. Some performers at the Fringe like to just carry on regardless of someone’s confusion, as if the audience has been set the challenge of keeping up. Not Alex – so warm and informal it’s first name terms, thank you very much. She seems to think it stems from being a Scouser, and thus being frequently misunderstood.
The audience interaction is disarmingly sweet but without being saccharine – and that’s absolutely fine (hooray for civility!), and there are some moderately visceral moments, with frustration expressed in the vocabulary deployed in social media posts, which I thought was fair enough. How, indeed, does one actually know they have the best mother in the history of the world, and what is the statistical likelihood of that?
What audience members reveal about themselves, such as what age they first started drinking, or what their most embarrassing drunk moment was, says much about the role of alcohol in British life. As someone who has never bothered texting or calling into a radio broadcast, it’s reassuring to know Alex doesn’t think I belong on a register. Given the nature of the storyline, there’s an almost inevitable confessional feel towards the end, which builds towards a suitably hilarious finish. A confident and heartwarming Edinburgh Fringe debut.
Review by Chris Omaweng
Alex got sober in 2017 when she was 23. This is a show about what it’s like once you get sober, discovering who you really are without substances, and what if who you really are is actually also a d*ckhead?
ALEX STRINGER: HAPPY HOUR
Pleasance Courtyard at the Edinburgh Fringe
30 July to 24 August 2025
