Tracks, adapted from Jack London
TJ Dawe, who has earned the admiration of Fringers in previous years for his ability to tell stories he has made up, shows equal ability in telling someone else’s stories. Jack London was an irascible man. The frailties and failures of individuals loomed larger, much of the time, than their virtues, and he admired those who kicked against the pricks, those who earned his respect, those who lived outside society - as he did for much of his life.
Dawe has selected stories from the time that London rode the rails as a hobo. They are funny, tragic, disturbing. And Dawe keeps the audience spellbound for a solid hour and a quarter. In a way, London’s stories are like Dawes’ – there are stories within the stories - yarns that London as hobo had spun to get a meal, a bed, or to avoid a jail cell. If nothing else, your vocabulary will be increased: knowing the argot of the hobo may not be useful in day-to-day life, but it sure is interesting.
WARNINGS: TJ’s shows sell out. It is probably worth paying the slightly larger service charge to get your tickets now. If not, you had better line up very early. Half the tickets for each show go on sale one hour before the start but, if the weather cooperates, people may well start lining up earlier. Also, TJ is a Fringe regular, and this show is as good as any he has done (one of the best at the Fringe). But sooner or later, like others before him, he'll become too big for the festival. So see his performance while you still can.
Janet Coutts
Montreal.com
June 2002
