Olga Koch Comes From Money at Uus Laine

Uus Laine, better known to me as a dance spot with a solid karaoke night, brought me in last week to see Olga Koch Comes From Money, presented by Komeediklubi (Comet Club). The show opens with host Andrus Purde swearing off crowd work as he introduced the format of the night: the first half is two sets by local artists Aleksandr Eeri Laupmaa, whose solo show debuts at Heldeke! this weekend, and Ann Vaida, who can be spotted at showcases throughout the Tallinn Fringe Festival. The headliner, our host informs us, will take the stage for the second half after an intermission.

Laupmaa’s stage persona this evening is spaced out and silly, agreeable and absurd. He blends precision and awkward insistence in his delivery, using posture, voices, and repetition to underscore his experiences and petty grievances.  His Fringe show, I’m given to understand, is character-based stand-up, and I’m quite excited to see how that develops, and whether it overlaps with his opening set here.

Vaida’s observational comedy has new fodder as she enters parenthood, and tangles with the reputations and realities of Eastern European moms and dads. From her stories, you get a real sense of how comedy infuses her life – not by constantly thinking of zingers, but through little acts of mischief that she sprinkles throughout encounters with others. Not one to let pass an opportunity to crank up the strangeness of the everyday, Vaida makes the world a more confounding place with each vet visit, phone call, and resold shelving unit.

Olga Koch, born in St. Petersburg not long after the fall of the Soviet Union, moved with her family to the UK when she was still young, and has spent her whole life reckoning with being that most unappealing thing: stinking rich. The stink, she discovers, may have something to do with her father’s previous employment in and timely departure from Russia. In this show, she explores what it means to rich – and relatable – across the cultural contexts she’s been exposed to. Framed by a series of self-posed questions (“Thanks for asking!”), Koch uses hilarious, brutal observations to highlight the hypocrisy and real fears of the ruling classes.

Koch’s strong grasp of the content and intent of her show are clear as she uses local comparisons to connect and drill-down on some of her topics – to be sure, the jokes about wild west of the 90s hit different in Estonia than they do in the US or UK. Her physicality within the context of the show, throwing brief tantrums and using furniture to punctuate her punchlines, make her an engaging storyteller to watch as well as listen to. Despite the fact that she’s wealthy enough not to, she’s clearly worked hard developing her skills and instincts to get where she is – and I look forward to seeing where carbon-offsetting brings her next.

While Koch’s show was a one-time stop on her tour, the 2025 Tallinn Fringe Festival continues through 18 September. You can catch Ann Vaida at the Late Night Comedy Shows at Heldeke! on Thursdays and Saturdays for the next few weeks, and at the Comedians of Europe show at Ratas&Kohv on 3 September at 1900. Aleksandr Eeri Laupmaa’s show Sasha Alexander: Hoof of Concept is at Heldeke! on Saturday 30 August at 2000.

Author: Laurie

Laurie likes alliteration, ambiance, and lists with three things.