Kellerteater thriller turns Tinder dates into nerve-racking theatre

Kristina Paškevicius and Andra Teede’s thriller Maarja Swiped Tinder offers Kellerteater’s trademark suspense while reaching beyond the theatre’s usual audience of crime and thriller fans, ERR reviewer Helen Pärk writes.

The production premiered at Kellerteater on May 10. It opens with a threatening storm and torrential rain, then combines comedy, recognisable situations, warning signs and the tension associated with suspense theatre.

At the centre of the story is 39-year-old Maarja, played by Kaisa Selde. At a turning point in her life, she decides to seek comfort and revenge through Tinder and to fill her life with new acquaintances. She chooses the wine bar Tilk ja tõde, near her office and carrying a symbolic significance, for her first dates.

The men Maarja meets range widely. They include a former university classmate, a well-known journalist, a banker, an ex-prisoner, eccentric men sharing a hotel room and several other more or less unusual characters. Together, they form a cross-section of the colourful Tinder users who reach the Kellerteater stage.

Maarja is attractive, open and self-confident, and knows how to stand up for herself and show another strange suitor the door. That changes after a fateful meeting turns her life upside down. As is typical of a thriller, the production contains several layers that may not be immediately apparent or only fall into place at the end.

Meelis Kubo and Ragnar Uustal play all the bizarre and unusual men Maarja encounters on her Tinder journey. The actors have a strong partnership and an evident enjoyment of performing together. Even scenes designed to make the audience uncomfortable are played with clear consideration for their fellow performers.

The three actors also remain fully focused throughout the performance despite the cramped stage and auditorium, where every extraneous sound can be heard, including comments from audience members to their theatre companions.

In the video sequences, Maarja’s Tinder adventures are supported and propelled by her friend Eva, played by Liis Haab. Eva’s life revolves around small children and family, but she too cannot escape the dangers that enter Maarja’s dating world.

The videos also feature witty chat conversations and, after one strange and comic date, a Google search that may leave viewers raising their eyebrows in discomfort or astonishment. The word pearl will probably acquire a second, decidedly unglamorous meaning for them.

Maarja Swiped Tinder is Paškevicius’s final work for her master’s studies in choreography at BFM. During the project, she also examined wordless communication in actors’ work and the intersection of dance and sexuality. The production’s choreography is inventive, using movement in several scenes to convey events in Maarja’s life.