The Gong Show — the Estonian version

The Gong Show format made its glorious return for Tallinn Fringe Festival’s last full week of shows. Held in the illustrious Heldeke! theater-bar, the stage was set for comedians to have their moment to dazzle the public.

The Gong Show format consists of a group of comedians whose goal is to stay on stage for as long as possible or up to five minutes max. Sounds easy right? Well, there’s a twist. Three of the audience members have the joint power to eliminate a comedian before their time is up. By waving the flags that have been given to them at the beginning of the show, they have the power to decide the fate of the comedians. And just to mix things up the flag holders can also be switched out at any time in the show. Talk about democracy!

What happens when all the flags are up? Then the gong is rung and the comedian is accompanied off stage with gracious music playing behind them. Who wins if multiple comedians reach the five-minute mark? Then the public cheers for their favorite act without the comedians knowing who is being cheered for. And that’s it!

On this special night, two Gong Shows were being held at Heldeke! — one in English and the other in Estonian. I opted for the Estonian version because I tend to prefer stand-up comedy in my native language. The ever-so-charming Ann Vaida was the night’s host, sound technician, and gong (or in tonight’s case, bucket) ringer.

She began the show by explaining the format and passing out the flags, also adding that the lineup is determined by drawing names from a cup. And I was the lucky audience member who had the honor of picking the first comedian. 

The comedians waiting in the wings had a wide range of experiences. Some were just getting their feet wet, others had had sold-out solo shows already. Some of the night’s comedians were Maria Sepp, Rivo Roost, Sille-Kadri Simer, Aleksandr Popov, and Sandra Tiitson, among others. Some comedians made me cackle from the bottom of my heart while others left me a little cold. Comedy is a very subjective matter, but I did feel that the flag bearers were being rather lenient with some of the comedians, often conferring with others before deciding whether or not to wave the flag. Perhaps the flag handlers should have been swapped out more often to create of more diverse show. 

But all in all the show was very enjoyable. It’s a great way to have a more interactive experience while also discovering new comedians. And if you’re wondering who won the Estonian Gong Show at the end of the night, then I am delighted to announce that the winner was the comedian whose name I had picked out of the lucky cup at the start of the show: Aleksandr Popov!

Author: Caroline