Friday, July 23, 2004

Okay, just one more...

Slip-knot
Last night's performance of TJ Dawe's The Slip-knot was the perfect capper to my '04 Fringe experience. My girlfriend and I finally got to see what all the fuss was about with this here Dawe feller. Talk about justified! I'm telling you...believe the hype! As any Fringer worth his/her salt knows, The Slip-knot is one of the many plays that superthespian Dawe has a hand in, and the one that even God himself couldn't get a seat in during the 2002 Winnipeg Fringe. Thank (insert higher power here) for advance tickets. Once Sarah and I found out he was staging this show again, we jumped on it.

Two years ago, The Slip-knot was showcased in the somewhat cozy confines of the King's Head. This year, Dawe had the spacious PTE Mainstage to work his magic. Other than the slight lack of legroom, it was perfect. I sat there stunned as TJ blasted through his breathless three-tiered monologue, the parts of which we were able to keep track of thanks to the blue, red, and green lights in front of him. Each light represented a period of time. It kinda reminded me of Tom Waits' Big Time, where Tom wielded a lighted Shure mic. Wait...am I right about that? I haven't seen the film in a long time. Anyway...to me, this show was the absolute height of observational humour. I'll never look at Shoppers' Drug Mart the same way again, believe me.

So...like I said, this show was the perfect end to the Fringe for me this year. I knew I could try to cop a ticket for Dawe's Curse of the Trickster, but I think I'm Fringed-out. 12 shows...that's a pretty fair amount, I'd say.

God bless you, Mr. Dawe!

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