Labrador is not a show about a dog. It's the brain child of Canadian writer and actor TJ Dawe, who has devised a "very simple, one-person show in which the performer stands in one spot and tells a story". And that's exactly what he does.
In a conversational manner that had one audience member talking back without thinking, Dawe rattles off his story with great wit and charm and the hour whizzes by. What is it about? Dare I say nothing. Dawe ruminates on mundane mysteries of modern life such as why we have a list that credits everyone who works on a movie but we don't have labels that credit everyone involved in the making of a business shirt. As he tangentalises about this and that, seemingly at random, Dawe is secretly telling the tale of his first visit to Labrador, Newfoundland, where his grandfather was born. Dawe uses shelving, a touch of impro and good ol' fashioned storytelling in the style we've come to expect from high quality Canadian Fringe theatre.
The Bottom Line: A well-spun yarn with a lot of laughs.
Adelaide Sunday Mail
February 27, 2000
