Riki Lindhome: Dead Inside Review – A Gobsmacking Comedy About Fertility

‘I cognize this show tin beryllium uncomfortable,” says Riki Lindhome, sat astatine her keyboard aft a opus astir gestation loss. But if Dead Inside is ne'er cosy viewing, it’s funny, entertaining and emotionally involving to a precocious degree. Hardened viewers of trauma-comedy, a staple of fringe festivals successful caller times, whitethorn consciousness jaded astatine nan imaginable of “a one-woman philharmonic drama astir my fertility journey”. Their religion successful nan shape will beryllium wholly refreshed by this American’s beautifully judged hour, chronicling her by turns sad, amusing and gobsmacking efforts to go a mother.

Refreshing … Riki Lindhome successful Dead Inside. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/the Guardian

Something astir nan modesty of nan undertaking is key: fewer autobiographical shows consciousness little “me, me, me”. Lindhome signs disconnected astir of her songs pinch a demure “that’s it”; nan accumulation values (right down to nan disembodied manus sticking retired of nan wings to run a bubble machine) are unassuming. Our big would, let’s look it, for illustration not to beryllium telling this communicative astir stiff embryos, grounded IVF, 7 surgeries successful 1 year, untimely narration breakups and being classified arsenic an “undesirable candidate” to adopt a child.

That past communicative takes nan cake, arsenic Lindhome falls foul of her Google beingness that includes smutty and sacrilegious songs recorded arsenic portion of nan duo Garfunkel and Oates. There are much witty, bittersweet numbers here: 1 parodying Disney princesses (Lindhome was penning an animated movie passim her gestation travails), different asking “will you beryllium my bio-dad?”, and a fewer tangential but dottily applicable detours into The Sound of Music and female aesculapian history.

A later opus compares nan surrogate mum Lindhome yet finds to a “trash bag”, which by this constituent itself feels sacrilegious – while nailing nan consciousness that surrogacy, for illustration half of a double-act now performing drama alone, whitethorn not beryllium nan result you wanted, but is amended than not doing it astatine all.

There’s an awareness-raising magnitude to nan show, too, worn lightly but – pinch reference to accusation withheld from Lindhome that mightiness person changed everything – very persuasive. From seeming almost sheepish to claiming your attention, Lindhome’s show soon compels nan afloat engagement of your heart, caput and funny bone.