Heldeke! has a way of turning its cosy little theatre into a different world every time, and this evening it was the setting for Highway Hazards: A Texan Hitchhiker.
The room was packed, and I ended up sitting right in front of Ben McWilliams, which made the whole experience feel less like watching a stand-up show and more like having a very entertaining conversation with the person sitting across from you.
Originally from New Mexico and raised in Texas, Ben has spent years travelling and hitchhiking around the world, from Mongolia to Serbia, before finding himself navigating life in the Baltics. And it is these experiences that make up some of the funniest parts of the show.
Ben is incredibly comfortable on stage. He talks with an easy, natural rhythm, moving effortlessly between stories, observations and jokes. His stories about travelling, cultural differences and the strange situations he has found himself in had the room laughing, and there was something particularly enjoyable about hearing them told directly by someone who had actually lived them.
If anything, we were left wanting more.
The travel stories were probably our favourite part, and an extra dose of those adventures would have been very welcome. There are surely plenty more strange encounters, questionable decisions and unexpected rides hiding somewhere in Ben’s past.
An easy-going hour of stand-up, plenty of laughs, and the feeling that you have just spent an evening listening to a very good storyteller who happens to have collected some rather unusual travel experiences along the way.
The Tallinn Fringe Festival continues through 18 September.
Author: Hélène
Subscribe to our email newsletter to get the latest posts delivered right to your email.