Belinda Filippelli: The Heart, Mind, C*nt Connection Review by Iain Anderson
I was performing my first show of the Barcelona Fringe on November 4th, just before attending Belinda’s, but knew I wanted to catch her show. I had only ever seen very small snippets of her material at the Comedy Clubhouse and online, but even in those short moments, her larger than life, yet soft-spoken, personality made itself known.
Teatro Metamorfosis would prove to be the ideal backdrop for this show. There is a large chair and an old antique-like rug on the floor which gives the impression Belinda had invited us into her home for a story by the fire.
After Bianca warms up the audience, the lady herself comes out onto the stage and starts to share her stories with us. Belinda plays a little with the audience but doesn’t waste any time getting into her hilarious storybook of life experiences.
She tells tales of growing up without privacy around a nosy mother, working as a sexy phone operator in her youth, and learning to make the PERFECT sandwich, no matter what the “other” Italians say. What is clear through The Heart, Mind, C*nt Connection is that Belinda moves through life looking for the positive in any situation, even finding the funny in heartbreak.
The show ends with stories about her brother who lost his life to suicide and whose loss sent ripples throughout her already not very functioning family. She tells jokes about him that only a sister who loved him could tell, knowing she was laughing with him and not at him. It was a beautiful end to a rollercoaster of a story about a woman whose comedy stems from a life still in progress.
This review of The Heart, Mind, C*nt Connection, written and performed by Belinda Filippelli, was based on her Nov. 4, 2024 performance at Teatro Metamorfosis during the Barcelona Fringe Festival.
