On any given night, heading down to Heldeke! to see what’s on offer will introduce you to something new – people, art, drinks, or music, there’s very little that happens there that’s truly mainstream. It’s in this environment that the performers of the Post-Punk Cabaret, Lebo Sibul and Sasha Paris-Carter, first met less than two months ago, and on Friday 8 August it’s to this environment they’ve brought the fruit of their creative collaborations.
Lebo and Sasha themselves greet audience members at the upstairs entrance of the venue, dressed in what I can best describe as kinky clown dell’arte – a bit goth, a bit sexy, a bit stylised. On arrival, their roles play very much mean Domme kicking her puppy around, but the dynamics begin to melt quickly and change throughout the show. This two-hander cabaret interspersed solo sets of original music with rounds of collaborative storytelling and comedy, creating a high-energy space of exploration and experimentation.
Paris-Carter’s turns at the piano delivered avant-pop musicianship with stunning vocals, showcasing incredible range and precision pitch, with groans and trills adding decorative flourish to devastatingly poignant and punchy lyrics. Lebo Sibul’s driving guitar, plaintive vocals, and thunderously orchestrated backing tracks elevated him throughout the night from the pre-show sadpuppy to something a lot more like rockstar. Their combined emotive songwriting would have been enough to carry the show – but the interludes together were an excellent way of lightening and rebalancing the mood, including accidental and intentional slapstick, props, audience participation, and improvisation. You could see the two artists offering one another challenges and support throughout, resulting in a playful environment that welcomed the crowd to step in and offer the same.
Although it seems that this particular show was a once-in-a-lifetime event, both performers can be seen again during the Tallinn Fringe Festival fringe.ee, which itself runs from 18 August – 18 September. Sasha Paris-Carter‘s album performance/show, A Devil in my Shoe, can be caught at Heldeke! on Wednesday 20 and Sunday 24 August at 1700. Lebo Sibul can be found at Heldeke! during the Hour of Sound on Thursday 28 August at 2100, and The Cellar Sessions with raptorjesus42 on 27 August at 1800. And if we happen to see the return of this duo, you can catch me in the audience again, basking in the great and weird of Tallinn.
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Author: Laurie
Laurie likes alliteration, ambiance, and lists with three things.
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