Marathon By TJ Dawe At Bakehouse Theatre – Adelaide Fringe Review

Bakehouse Theatre’s Main Stage, Mon Mar 2 TJ Dawe would make a great teacher. He’s a talented storyteller who tells stories with a point. Serious points. He’s also a fine entertainer. And he’d need to be – nothing but him and his voice and his flawed personality out there on stage. Not that there’s anything wrong with having a flawed personality. We all have that in common. We can’t help it. Dawe explains all about this, and other human foibles, via parallel tales from his childhood in Vancouver, and recent quests to see if he can become a better man. It may sound a bit hippy or like stuff you see in the self-help section that you avoid in bookshops, but (depending on your personality type I guess) Dawe is better than a book. In an extraordinary pacey monologue dense with imagery, characterisations, description, instruction, and self-deprecation he carves through serious psychological terrain while entertaining and oh so gently challenging us. Even if you’re just there for the live theatre equivalent of a passive night in front of the box (is there such a thing?) you will learn. And you will think. And smile and laugh with him. At him. And yourself. You have no choice in the matter. A great show. Michael Coghlan TJ Dawe  performs Marathon at Bakehouse Theatre’s Main Stage until Sat Mar 7. Book at FringeTIX on 1300 621 255 or adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix. Click HERE to purchase your tickets.