The Slip-Knot
With The Slip Knot, Fringe veteran TJ Dawe has outdone himself. It consists of three interwoven monologues about different jobs the author has held: stockboy or "merchandiser," as it's euphemistically called, in a drug store; Christmas temp at Canada Post tracking lost parcels; and a truckdriver who delivers dumpsters to construction sites.
The concept is simple: Dawe comes on stage in semi-darkness and sets up a stand with three tiny spotlights attached: a red, a white and a blue. These are all he has to create settings for his three "characters" who are all the same guy at different points in his life. The three monologues are structured so that peaks and valleys come simultaneously in all three. Using his usual rapid-fire delivery, Dawe jumps back and forth between one narrative and another, never missing his mark on the floor and never dropping the thread.
It's a miracle of memorization that's also an acting tour-de-force and a thoroughly satisfying piece of theatre.
Amy Barratt
The Mirror
