Outside In, the title of Ilaria Passeri’s spoken word performance, suggests an introspective piece. This is not the case.
Passeri is a raconteur spinning examples from her life into a twisting but uplifting and very funny tale. Although there are theatrical elements to Outside In, including sound effects and Passeri illustrating her talk with some cheap and cheerful costume changes, in the main, this is a comedy monologue.
The title, Passeri explains, comes from her lifelong desire to fit in and be part of a gang. This is complicated by Passeri having conflicting objectives—wanting to appeal to both an artistically inclined, ethically sound collective as well as to a group of women who assert their femininity by glamming up to make sure they never have to pay for drinks. Passeri worries one group of friends would consider the other to be either pretentious or shallow, and actually isn’t entirely clear on her own feelings.
Passeri’s personality is warm and positive. She rarely has a bad word to say about anyone and tends to cringe in embarrassment on their behalf recalling the efforts of her university tutor to become a stand-up comedian. A rare example of Passeri deciding enough is enough involves encountering a yoga instructor who seems determined to turn a class into an orgy.
Even a potentially traumatic incident is treated lightly. Passeri’s first effort to become a member of a group is to join the Brownies, and her estranged father effectively kidnaps her from one of their meetings. Considering Brown Owl chooses to hand her over rather than risk harm to any of the other Brownies, Passeri does not hold a grudge. Her home village must be idyllic, as she is rescued not by the police but by Nigel, the policeman. Bet the postman is called Pat.
Passeri’s recollections of working as one of Santa’s elves is similar to presentations on the same subject by, say, David Sedaris. Her description of efforts to find some cultural aspects to a boozy holiday with her mates in Dubai leads, however, to some unique, even surreal adventures with someone claiming to be royalty offering her a ticket to Japan and chasing her with pants around his ankles. As with other parts of the tale, it could be terrifying but Passeri chooses to see the funny side.
Passeri’s warm personality and refusal to ever find the dark side of a subject makes Outside In a gentle and constantly funny show.
Outside In returns to Gullivers Lounge on 30 July 2023.