Some shows ease you gently into their world. Wait, What Is This? does not.
From the moment Lydia Keating and John Harper step onto the stage, they are everywhere: expressive, energetic, playful and completely unafraid to take up space. Within minutes, the small stage at Heldeke! feels much bigger than it actually is.
The premise is wonderfully simple and slightly absurd: two performers, one chaotic story, and an impressive amount of rhyming. The entire show unfolds in verse, with the story twisting and turning through comic scenes, wordplay and increasingly ridiculous situations.
And the energy never really lets up.
Keating and Harper are both incredibly expressive performers. Their faces, voices and bodies become part of the comedy, and they throw themselves into each scene with an infectious sense of joy. There is something almost childlike about the pleasure they seem to take in performing, except the jokes are decidedly more grown-up.
The result is fast, playful and wonderfully silly. Sometimes you are following the story, sometimes you are simply enjoying the rhythm of the words, and sometimes you are wondering how on earth they managed to make that particular rhyme work.
If you enjoy theatre where the performers clearly love being on stage, this is an easy show to get swept up in. There is very little distance between the actors and the audience: they play with the room, fill the space and constantly invite you into their wonderfully chaotic world.
And perhaps that is the best way to approach Wait, What Is This?: don’t worry too much about making sense of it. Let the rhymes carry you, enjoy the ridiculousness, and go along for the ride.
By the end, you may still be wondering exactly what it was. But you’ll probably be very glad you came along for the ride.
The Tallinn Fringe Festival continues until 18 September.
Author: Hélène
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