Raw and inviting, Nina Oyama is ‘Doing Me’ Right Now is an homage to being 26, bisexual, part-Japanese, a “lefty snowflake” and living in Australia. Self-admittedly ticking over a little during last night’s performance, Nina has been thrust into the public eye by her hilarious quips on Twitter (supported adoringly by her 20K+ followers), her time on ABC’s the Set and Utopia, as well as her myriad of characters on Kinne Tonight and Tonightly with Tom Ballard. 

Part gross-out humour, part using the audience as a sounding-board to confirm her own suspicions over the inappropriateness of past behaviours: Nina paces front and back the same three steps as she tosses jokes into the audience and watches them land, misfire, or stumble out into obscurity. Nina presents as the person you meet hovering at the corner of the party that after striking up a conversation you either leave abruptly, or hold your stomach in pain from guffaws of laughter. She’s charming, warm and overwhelmingly sincere. So much so, that you can certainly imagine she is constantly getting herself into a bit of a pickle over ill-timed outbursts or deprecating comments made a little too loudly. 

It is refreshing and comforting to see that the malaise of being 20-something is somewhat universal and that we all often have these atypical thoughts, even though not all of us are openly sharing them in front of a live audience. Jokes cover the spectrum of human experience from the  complex symbiosis between house mates, to gut bacteria and the etiquette required when dealing with Instagram perverts. No topic is too taboo and shame is acknowledged and accepted as a natural part of life.

A little unpolished here and there, but the material is a unique take on modern society and her place within it. Nina is sure to only improve and refine her set this fringe season: a solid laugh, with a few groans of discomfort thrown in for good measure. 

3.5/5

By Grace Kungel

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