By Sam Mooney
The Fringe program says that TJ Dawe is a “Fringe god”. I don’t know if TJ wrote that or if someone at Fringe wrote it but it doesn’t matter. TJ Dawe is wonderful. How is it that I’ve never seen him before? I’ll certainly make sure I see him again.
Lucky 9 is a monologue about life. It kind of zigs and zags around a bit, sometimes hops from one thing to another, and is lovely.
Dawe’s presentation is low-key for the most part although he was very animated when he was talking about the Olympics – and tax attorneys.
He talked about his childhood, his sister’s knitting and crafting, his mother, his father’s enthusiasm about The Wire, Dr. Gabor Mate’s books (I’m definitely buying two of them), the Enneagram of personality, addictions and chasing dopamine, and his own personal develop.
Does this sound too serious? It wasn’t. Well some of it was but a lot of it was very funny. For me a monologue is different then a stand-up routine or a one-person play because it’s more personal, more intimate, more thoughtful. It’s successful if my emotions are engaged. And tonight my emotions were definitely engaged. I laughed, I wiped away a few tears, I learned a couple of things I didn’t know and I left wanting to learn more.
The audience loved TJ Dawe and Lucky 9. I loved TJ Dawe and Lucky 9. Definitely add it to your Fringe must-see list.
Off topic – sort of. There’s a Chinese Food truck across from the theatre. Like a chip wagon but Chinese food. I didn’t try it but a few people were sitting at tables in front of the theatre enjoying Chinese. I’m going to try it next time. It’s a great idea.
Details:
– Lucky 9 by TJ Dawe is playing at the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse, 79A St George St.
– Wed, June 30 8:15 PM – 902
Sat, July 3 1:45 PM – 914
Sun, July 4 9:00 PM – 924
Wed, July 7 Noon – 938
Thu, July 8 6:00 PM – 948
Sat, July 10 7:00 PM – 963
Sun, July 11 4:00 PM – 968
– All individual Fringe tickets are $10 ($5 for FringeKids) at the door (cash only), Online at www.fringetoronto.com, by Phone at 416-966-1062, in person (June 30 – July 11 only) at The Randolph Centre for the Arts, 736 Bathurst Street
– Advance tickets are $11 ($10+$1 convenience fee), and $5 for FringeKids (no convenience fee for kids tickets).
– Several money-saving passes are available if you plan to see at least 5 shows