ZOE ASHE-BROWNE

Ballet dancer

I have a very, very low tolerance for alcohol. If anything I’d like to be able to enjoy a drink more socially than I can. If I go out for a few wines with friends, nine times out of 10, I’ll feel it the next day.

I definitely drink more moderately now. When I was a teenager, at home in Ireland, I drank on weekends with friends. Once I got to London it became really infrequent with the intensity of the [ballet] training. Now I’ll enjoy one beer maybe twice a week, but no more than that. It depends how the week has been and whether or not I’ve the full weekend free, as we normally just get a Sunday or Monday off in the theatre.

I’ll have a beer with dinner in the evening if it’s not been too intense at work, or on the weekends with friends, but these days I’ll go weeks without having a drink when the season gets really tough. I just couldn’t function with the dehydration the next day in work.

Ever been drunk? Very rarely. Yes, but only because my body has never handled alcohol particularly well. So it would sometimes come on after a single glass of wine. It’s madness. Hangover cure? A cup of English breakfast tea with a bit of milk. A banana and well-done toast with butter. And then tea, tea, tea. In the evening then, something like salmon and potatoes.

I love beer, especially because I’m living in Germany where the variety is awesome. For a cocktail, I love an Amaretto sour. Champagne for a birthday or Christmas morning drinks. But I wouldn’t be rewarding myself with alcohol just because I’ve had a hard day at work.