REVIEW: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha (Woolly Mammoth)

A hauntingly violet haze tinges over Woolly’s black box. Droning sounds emanate through the space; it’s uneasy. There’s an uncomfortable aura. One that doesn’t seem to evoke humor, as the title ha ha ha ha ha ha ha (that’s seven) would suggest.

Then, a ghastly illuminated woman in blue emerges. She breathily utters drawn-out “ha”s into her mic, and commands random audience members to match it. When she isn’t pleased by one, she evicts them from their seat, takes their chair, and destroys it onstage. Then the audience finally get to “ha” ourself, more naturally.

The woman, Julia Masli, is an Estonian-born-London-based clown who has taken this show on the road in several countries and garnered much praise for its otherworldly improvisations. Woolly now has the privilege of bringing them to us in a beautifully-executed and thoughtful way that definitely wrought more than seven “ha”s.

Book

There isn’t much of a “book” — it’s basically all improv — but Masli creatively strews themes together based on her audience. After destroying the aforementioned chair, she sing-songs “Prooobleeeeem?” at a random audience member via a microphone attached to a plastic leg. What happens after that is a night-by-night experience. For my performance, she kicked things off by asking this to an AP Government teacher who was struggling to devise a curriculum for the upcoming year, wanting to emphasize making the students into good citizens. She then queried us about what he should teach to make his students as such — someone said empathy, which the teacher then wrote on the board. This established the night’s theme, and it was wonderous to see her encourage each solution to be communal. That includes the old woman who slept through half of the show onstage, another who raised funds for her nonprofit by writing the donation link on the rear wall, and a couple who spent the thing re-building the Chair. I was also involved: I said my problem was having terrible anxiety, to which she sprung out a paper invitation to a group therapy bowling session next weekend, complete with an RSVP email. (I will be in attendance, keep an eye out on the Instagram page.) It even culminating with an audience member taking a actual shower onstage to cleanse their mind. In between each problem were anecdotes regarding humanity and our commonalities as a species. Frankly, it was a funny and beautifully human experience. When I got back on the metro, I felt spiritually refreshed; an unexpected end to my evening, but surely a fulfilling one. 9/10

Acting

Julia is spooky, with her barely-present form that uses voice and light to project her persona into the room. What’s the most incredible, though, was her ability to not break character. Sure, there are probably parts that are common and not that funny — like the bed, perhaps — once you’ve performed it a thousand times. But when it came to audience quirks that had us in stitches, she kept it straight. Even when she tried to have a pizza fall onto a plate she held out, and it splat onto the floor? Stoic. When an audience member who was a doctor suggested amputation as a solution for minor knee pain? Nothing. Masli has this well under control to the point that her volition in the face of absurdity one of the funniest elements by itself. 9/10

Production

Flooding haze and violet lighting suffocate the room, creating more tension to be cut with her humor. You’re always left wondering what she’s going to pull out of her hat, or what random soundbite from the evening she’ll play over the droning background noise. 7/10

Viz

I can’t quite agree on if the marketing matches the show. The written-out “ha”s feel like they’re from a horror movie, and Julia looks like a ghost in all of the materials. The show description is: “hahahahahahahah hihihi hohohohoho hehe”. That tracks for the actual experience, but it looks a lot scarier than it is. I promise there’s nothing frightening about it, and anyone’s first gut reaction should be dissuaded if it goes there. 5/10

Verdict

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha is full of laughs, as you maybe could expect by the title, but also full of thoughtfulness and connection thanks to Julia Masli’s superb clowning skill. 30/40