Giada Garofalo is an unusual storyteller. An Italian woman, raised in a strict Catholic family, somewhat awkward on stage and debatably mentally ill (her words, not mine). But I thought she was an absolute inspiration and I’ve been telling all my friends to go see her since. While she made sure the audience knew her show was storytelling and not comedy, she was genuinely funny and had some wonderful jokes linked into her tale. I’m not sure Garofalo knows quite how inspirational her story is.
Garofalo talked about all aspects of her life, from relationships to her mental health to her family to her work. The most striking thing about this performance was her open and honest approach to sex, revealing very personal things about herself to an audience of only three – the show could not have been more intimate. Her main thread in her story was how she coped with a personal choice she made last year; a one year sabbatical from sex. It took a great deal of courage to cope the whole year and also share these experiences with a room of strangers, Garofalo is a woman without limitations and an absolute inspiration.
She warned the audience before beginning the show that her story was a little on the dark side. This part of her performance concentrated on her mental health – an issue which many people seek to hide rather than discuss. Again, this was an incredibly brave topic for Garofalo to talk about on a stage, during her first time at Edinburgh Fringe. However, she was both moving and good humoured throughout, relaxing the audience with her easy going attitude.
Although her show focused on darker storytelling, Garofalo couldn’t help but let her humour shine through in the performance and I would thoroughly encourage going to see her. She is a woman with a great deal of courage; a strong person that inspires her audience through her story and passion for life.
