TJ Dawe's Tracks a helluva journey
You don't have to ride the rails to get in on TJ Dawe's Tracks, a runaway locomotive of a show with nary a whistle stop along the way. Going back to 1994, Dawe is a Fringe favourite performing original one-man shows, including Tired Clichés, Labrador and The Slip-Knot. This time around, he dives into the Hemingway-esque escapades of American novelist/adventurer Jack London, who criss-crossed the US and Canada by train without ever buying a ticket. It was hazardous business with brakemen ("shacks") and railway police ("bulls") always trying to shake you off. In reality, it was probably a cold, dirty life but London and Dawe make it sound romantic with a litany of place names and hobo's monikers (The Swede, Skysail Jack, 'Frisco Kid, Shine and more). Young, strong, determined and fast, London soon became a "profesh" in the trade, outwitting the most resolute bulls and setting records for the fastest unpaid transcontinental journeys to visit loving, non-existent sisters in far away towns.
Young, strong, determined and fast himself, Dawe is a profesh in the monologist business. You can feel the cold wind biting through your threadbare coat, see the lanterns swinging through the dark as the brakemen approach, feel the lurch and jostle of the freight cars beneath your feet and taste the hot biscuits that kindly women in warm farmhouses provided the hungry hobos.
Make tracks. Do what London never did: buy a ticket. Enjoy the ride.
Jo Ledingham
Vancouver Courier
September 15, 2002
