ABOUT ME
Ilaria is an award winning writer performer.
Drawing on her bizarre childhood, her varied experiences and her magnetic attraction for very strange people with tales to tell. She definitely has ‘one of those faces.’
Ilaria’s work has been featured in Huffington Post UK and BBC Radio Manchester.
She regularly performs at spoken word nights, literature events, festivals and also puts on her own full length, one woman shows.
Ilaria leads creative writing workshops that focus on creative non-fiction, guiding participants to take their real-life experiences and use them as material for short stories . With her warm, inspiring approach, she helps people discover their voice and bring authenticity, humour and craft to the page.
Ilaria has developed three full length storytelling shows with her wonderful producer, Micheál Jacob. Her latest show, ‘Under The Lamp Post’ won Best Spoken Word show at Manchester Fringe in 2025 and will be going on a small tour in 2026. Her previous show ‘OUTSIDE IN’ also won Best Spoken Word show at Manchester Fringe in 2023 and received a 5 star review. Ilaria’s first show ‘Lady Ilaria’s Drawers’ was performed at the 2021 Camden Fringe Festival at The Hen & Chickens Theatre. All three shows were sell out runs and received critical acclaim.
Ilaria hosted Verbose Manchester, an award winning monthly spoken word event, from 2023 to 2025. She continues to host various spoken word and cabaret nights in the north.
Ilaria won a Saboteur Award in 2023 for Best Short Story Collection for her book, “Tales of a Confused Life” and was nominated for Best Spoken Word Performer.
If you would like to book Ilaria for a full length show, a creative writing workshop or have her host your night then get in touch.
“A show that is hard to forget”… British Theatre Guide
“Ilaria Passeri’s latest show is beautiful, funny and touching… She is utterly endearing and a sublime actress… One of the finest hours at the fringe”… Canal Street Media
“Twisting, uplifting and constantly funny”… British Theatre Guide
Photo credit: Andy Hollingworth
“Relatable and fiercely funny… her show is a well crafted and well performed selection of autobiographical stories, seamlessly woven together by Ilaria Passeri’s masterful storytelling”… Lost in Theatre Land
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“Ilaria’s stories are hilarious, exuberant and equally heart-warming. She is a well-loved stalwart of the Manchester scene with her performances always a much-needed tonic to the world outside the room”… Verbose Spoken Word
Photo credit: Andy Hollingworth
“Storytelling connects, empowers and celebrates what it is to be human. Ilaria’s laugh-out-loud tales remind us what being human often is; a downright comic tragedy”… Heard Storytelling
“Ilaria’s storytelling is stunningly mesmerising. The whole audience is transfixed. There’s an ebb and flow to her delivery much like cosying up to the fire. These stories resonate so deeply – sprinkle a kind of fairy dust. A most detailed and sparkly performer”… What the Sketch, Manchester
Photo credit: Andy Hollingworth
Ilaria the Storyteller 