Comic Link-ups that Captivate
From the opening moment when he strikes a match dangerously near a pile of carboard boxes - onto which he then somersaults - Vancouver's TJ Dawe is unnervingly captivating, increasingly edgy and brilliantly funny. He offers extremely accurate observations on the artistry of cats vomiting, explores terms like "post-modern", goes to work the graveyard shift and has trouble putting videos back in covers.
Dawe exhalts the absurdity in these everyday scenarios but often doesn't attempt to offer answers, explanations or even jokes. He just leaves you with each quandary, then moves on.
Despite some facial and observational similarities to Seinfeld, Dawe is a far superior physical performer, imbuing his routines with sometimes subtle, other times ridiculous visual flourishes. Better still, he neatly weaves the seemingly unconnected routines with the show's recurring pedestrian scenario - and a dash of the Bruce Willis film The Sixth Sense - to create a devastating climax. This linking of separate comic narratives to create one final statement recalls Ben Elton's finest work. And it's all set to an original, cool, jazz soundtrack.
Patrick McDonald
Adelaide Advertiser
Tuesday, February 29, 2000
