Review: Receptionists (Ventnor Exchange Arena, Ventnor Fringe)

I spotted Receptionists on the schedule for Ventnor Fringe and it was interesting to me that Kallo Collective were travelling over from Finland. This made me want to see the show and see how it would translate to the UK Fringe scene.

Inga Björn and Kristiina Tammisalo use physical comedy to entertain the audience with the details of their characters’ lives in customer service. There is not much in the way of language you can understand, they use a mixture of gibberish and odd words in multiple languages, but mostly communicate via their movements and some incredible facial expressions which must have taken some work to develop.

The audience when I saw this show was a varied mixture from very young children right up to older adults. The general reception (boom boom) to the humour was positive with continuous laughter throughout.

Using an interesting mixture of slapstick comedy, magic and some audience interaction when they ask for 3 volunteers to play guests (this is entirely voluntary), there is no downtime in this hour long performance.

One particular gag that really stuck with me was their absolute hatred of the idea of answering the phone.  I am sure I am not the only person who can relate to this, but it was such a funny sequence, probably because the set up for it involved them setting up their desk and themselves as being very professional at looking after their 5 star hotel, and at the first opportunity to interact with “guests” they both back right off. In fact, I’m not sure these two receptionists were fans of guests at all.

The movement between the two performers is so well practiced and choreographed that it’s as if they are moving as one at times. The interactions look so reactive despite being rehearsed, and they keep the energy levels up throughout the show.

The only thing I would perhaps say is that that I feel the current narrative could be condensed down to a 45 minute run time. This is my personal opinion and others would likely disagree with me, from the audience reactions at the time.

This is a very well-crafted show which indeed translates well to the UK but because of the lack of spoken word (of any depth) could also be a success in any country.  Cleverly created and acted with absolute precision, skill and grace, I am pleased that I managed to catch Receptionists at Ventnor Fringe.

⭐⭐⭐1/2

If you would like to see my curtain call photographs from this and other shows, please visit my Instagram.

I was gifted a ticket for this show in exchange for an honest review.