With four opportunities to see this dynamic duo’s show at Tallinn Fringe, I took in the second performance at Ratas&Kohv (before Dev and Dinara moved over to Heldeke! to wrap up this leg of their tour). Based in Germany but with backgrounds in India and Kazakhstan respectively, The Other Asians provides a perspective on the European experience when you come from the not-so-Far East.
First on stage was Dev, opening with a delighted giggle that punctuated both one-liners and crowd work as he flirted with the audience, commiserating with a musician and offering puns and throupledom to the successful young construction company owner in the back row. From there he shared stories of cultural differences between his hometown and his first destination abroad, France, where he lost both his faith in God and his virginity.
As a late bloomer, Dev reflected on first kisses and the lack of representation in porn, the different types of break-ups, and how we handle that pain. Bringing in gallows humor darker than many dare attempt, he nevertheless hit delightfully shocking high notes. The history of British-Indian relations made a potent inflection point for everything from yoga pants to morning-after breakfasts with a side dish of rapid-fire jokes about Christians and Harry Potter. Dev is a fantastic storyteller, using voices and facial expressions to lean into his characters.
Dinara Kerey kept up the energy and expressiveness in the second half of the show, gleefully demonstrating why she’s everything the American government hates. Using deadpan delivery and well-honed pauses and inflections, Kerey eviscerates anyone who crosses her, from American idiots to overly-invested stand-up audiences to racists the world over, no matter their age or background.
Throughout the set, Kerey corrected misperceptions and offered insight into Kazakh culture through stories about friends, family, and the ways technology and giving up drinking help us fail at dating. With clever turns of phrase and body language, she kept the audience laughing and gasping about trauma, real trauma, and what it takes for your parents to believe you’re on the right path. With her vivid stage presence, Kerey demonstrated the chops needed to deliver cutting commentary with relish.
Dev & Dinara offer a delightful blend of sincerity and irreverence, happy to be where they’re from but happier to get where they’re going. The final two shows of The Other Asians take place at Heldeke! on 16 and 17 September. The Tallinn Fringe Festival ends this week.
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