American comedian-actor Gianmarco Soresi recently came on his maiden visit to India, performing in Mumbai and Bengaluru, and he returned to New York quite impressed. “Being a New Yorker has prepared me for the frenetic energy of being on the street. And India was like New York in advanced mode. But you never feel alone in India, and I do like that. The food here was incredible, although I was heavily monitored to not eat anything that would’ve disrupted my stage performance. So I fantasise about coming back here with enough time to be a little riskier with spice,” he says.
For Gianmarco Soresi, the highlights of his trip include his 5am visit to the vegetable market in Mumbai, going to the spice market, flower market and fish market. “I got to see the inner workings of how everything works, and the chaos, and the incredible nature of how people will fill the streets and then clear them out every single day. I wish I didn’t have to wake up at 5 a.m. to have had that experience, but I’m still glad to have done it once and never again,” he quips.
What he found amusing though was the attention he got from Indians for just being white. “There were a couple people who took a picture with me because they were familiar with my work, but there were more people who took a picture with me just because I’m white. And that was cool too. Honestly, it’s a lot less work on my end to be known for that,” he laughs.
Ask him if he made any tweaks to his set for the Indian audience and he says, “I haven’t changed too much about my set. I’ve certainly incorporated some of the experiences I had while I was here. But I find that being an American, so much is known about my culture that I don’t have to change too much. The only thing that’s changed is the crowd work part and what I’m asking and how I’m learning about India. What’s theatre like here? How is divorce treated here? Are people going back and forth? Is there joint custody? What are people wearing? Is the fact that I’m wearing this outfit offensive? Is it funny? Is it weird? Why do people want a picture with me just because I’m a white guy? There’s all sorts of interesting things.”
The comedian was also quite excited to have discovered mallakhamb and taking “an actual yoga class after doing it for decades in America”. Ask him about his takeaway from this visit and he says, “A lot of kurtas that I don’t know if I’ll be able to wear in the States. It feels like it’s such a statement to wear in the States, but they’re beautiful. I think I’m also going to be really snooty and annoying about Indian food in America, being like, ‘this chai is bullsh*t’. I honestly think I’m a pretty good salesman for visiting other countries. I can’t wait to come back.”