Review: Totem Figures
Fringe perennial T.J. Dawe is back with his latest one-man show, Totem Figures. It’s an autobiographical take on the idea that each person has a their own mythology with totem figures, real or fictional people, that figure prominently in that mythology. These totem figures collectively influence that person while also reflecting who they really are.
Having seen last year’s wonderful “Maxim and Cosmo”, I was looking forward to seeing what else was up Dawe’s sleeves. His storytelling gifts are used to good effect as he weaves together various threads about the influential figures in his life like Robertson Davies, Jesus and, of course, Luke Skywalker (among a few others mentioned). The text is a bit meandering (like a late-night wikipedia session) but holds together over the course of the show and provides a satisfying ending.
I subscribe to the notion that a piece is not completed when there is nothing left to add but instead when there is nothing left to be taken away. The 90 minute run-time of the show is a big ask and I found myself checking the time at minute 75. I think a 60 minute version would be a lean, mean Fringe machine but it still manages to work thanks to Dawe’s skills and obvious experience.
This show gets a: Recommended
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By Andrew, June 20, 2008 @ 1:01 am
He was doing a different show at my venue in Edinburgh last year. I heartily recommend him as a person, but that particular show (”A Canadian Bartender at Butlin’s”) was pretty poor.
By clare, June 21, 2008 @ 9:09 pm
Sorry, you lost me at the first sentence of the second paragraph. Unless M & C changed a lot – a LOT – in the thousands of km between us.