Late Night Cabaret with Kaisa Ling

Burlesque at Heldeke! has been on my to-watch list for years now, but it’s only recently that I’ve moved close enough to attend. This Fringe, Kaisa Ling hosts twice-weekly late-night cabarets on Tuesdays and Fridays, featuring local and visiting artists, regulars, and guests. 

With theatrical timing and old-school charm, Ling is an absolute powerhouse of a voice and a fearless artist, gleefully updating the classics with the support of pianist and all-round performer Rene Paul. From the outset, the atmosphere was thrilling and intimate, and Ling’s role as both host and entertainer provided an excellent frame for the performances to follow.

First up was local comedian Maria Sepp, a performer with the Pussy Jam collective pulling double duty after being a finalist in The Gong Show earlier this same evening. Her stand-up set reinforced my appreciation for her physical presence and use of sound effects, while also highlighting her deadpan storytelling skills. Appropriate for a late-night cabaret, her comedy was darker and more vulnerable than the set just a few hours earlier, a tonal shift that allowed for new jokes and pointed reflections to emerge from material drawn from life, a mortally finite source. The Pussy Jam collective celebrates its second birthday with a comedy jam at HUNGR on Friday 13 September.

A fascinating set followed by Triinu Upkin, the singing ballerina. A stage the size of Heldeke!’s is not where I would have ever imagined ballet, but the incredible control she had over her body meant she also controlled the space, filling it with shapes and shadows as she danced en pointe, towering, magnificent, and fluid. She followed this with a spoken interlude to introduce herself and her art, before wrapping up with a coy performance of one of her original songs in Estonian, easily segueing into vaudeville. She can be seen at Philly Joe’s on Thursday 12 September. Kaisa Ling closed out the first half of the show with a grinning invitation to eat your greens. 

Intermission followed, after which Ling introduced the next performer — Rene Paul himself, having traded in the tuxedoed pianist garb for what could be described as a three-piece suit, if one wasn’t fussy about fit or where, exactly, the tie ended up. This was only the beginning of an experimental musical performance that included audience participation that was genuinely fun for the audience, a bit of physical comedy at the piano, and a singalong where he applied a “to the tune of” twist to familiar songs and their lyrics. Paul is a regular at the late-night cabarets.

Next up was a musical improv duo comprised of Mitsy Chanel-Blot and Kati Ong, from Green Light Comedy and IMPEERIUM respectively, backed by IMPEERIUM’s Tarvo Krall. Flexing impressive vocals and timing, Chanel-Blot and Ong improvised through two skits — the first, a sketch called “That’s a Song!” assisted by Kaisa Ling, and the second an audience-prompted musical rom-com. The trio’s talent was matched by their energy, and they kept aware of one another, the space, and the audience in it. Their performance was a teaser for La La Laul on Sunday 15 September at IMPEERIUM Teatrisaal, where they’ll be joined onstage by two more castmates for a full-length musical improv experience. 

The final set was probably my favorite. Was it drag? Was it burlesque? Was it performance art making incisive social commentary? I’m going to say yes to all of the above, as performer Ruby embodied a new perspective on, well, on a lot of things! It was a provocative, evocative performance, the kind that reminds you that art is as much in how we feel about what we see as what the artist intends to show. I will say, that Ruby understood the different spaces that can be occupied on a stage — not just the floor space, but stillness and movement through the space above it can be incredibly effective, and Ruby was! I hope I get to see that kind of performance again, but alas, I do not know when or where Ruby will perform next.

The night was closed by Kaisa Ling, supported by Paul and Chanel-Blot and one of the audience participants from earlier in the evening. The Late Night Cabarets are free to enter, but generous donations are encouraged on leaving. Table reservations are possible. Tallinn Fringe continues through 18 September.

Author: Laurie