Despite being a fan of improv comedy, it has taken me too long to make it to Improteater IMPEERIUM over in the Põhjala tehas section of Kopli. It may yet be a little while before I catch an actual improv show there, but I did cycle over on 10 September to attend the Secret Time Travel Meeting. Presented by Shawn Wickens of New York City and promising a mash-up of Cheech & Chong, Rocky Horror Picture Show, and a TED Talk, I figured it would be right up my alley. Folks were gathered outside pre-show enjoying the weather, and inside enjoying the kind staff at the bar and door. They may or may not have followed the event description’s suggestion to dress up – Tallinn styles are very much individual.
The lobby area of the space is lovely, with cosy seating and a bar offering coffee, tea, and a variety of other beverages. The performance space is set up with rows of stadium-style seating, with entry directly onto the grey-carpeted stage before climbing to the seats. The set design was minimal – a microphone and a tall table set with a book – and it’s there that our host spends the next hour, entertaining the crowd with that rarely-seen beast on Tallinn’s stand-up scene: stoner comedy.
In a show as simple as it is expansive, we travel with Wickens through time and philosophy as he draws comparisons across simulation theory, religion, weed delivery, dog ownership, and more, “softly blowing” our minds with his insights and contemplations. Equipped with little more than a fistful of notecards, some big ideas, and a self-published book called Time Machine Blueprints, he embraces an optimistic view of the future, returning time and again to the idea that good thinking is good practice.
He encourages questions and comments from the audience, and the crowd – though perhaps not as prepared as I was to cackle and go whoaaaa out loud – was more than happy to chime in with their own experiences and examinations. We discussed everything from dentistry to random number generators to the possibility of deus in machina. Whether relating conversations he’d had with friends, or coming up with new revelations based on suggestions from the audience, it was indeed a journey that, at the end of a meagre hour, felt like we had travelled much further, deeper, and longer than we’d realised.
The Secret Time Travel Meeting has two more showings at the Tallinn Fringe Festival, 11-12 September at 1900 in the Improteater IMPEERIUM. Wear a costume, bring your galaxy brain, and be ready to engage and explore together.
Author: Laurie
Laurie likes alliteration, ambiance, and lists with three things.
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