Okay, first off, why is TJ Dawe not aging? Dawe’s lanky self comes striding out onto the Waterfront Stage and it’s like he hasn’t aged in the last 35 years. Second point: It’s a pleasure to watch such a seasoned pro having so much fun. In his surreal stand-up show Blueberries are Assholes, Dawe toys with the absurdities of language, food, and embodiment. Being a human creation, language is a combination of logic and ridiculousness. Picking apart the unlikely relationship between spelling and pronunciation in phlegm, Dawe says, “In English, we have two ways to make the F sound. One is the letter F.” But it’s the weirdness of being meat machines that truly horrifies or amuses homo sapiens, depending on our mood. Dawe imagines human sneezing as aliens might see it: the expulsion of waste through explosions from the face. And we’re food tubes, which inspires Dawe to imagine smackdowns between various fruits and vegetables — and a monologue for the tongue. If you’re looking for the kind of personal revelation and narrative satisfaction that some of Dawe’s other shows, including Tired Cliches and The Slipknot, have delivered, you won’t find them here. But he keeps Blueberries are Assholes poppin’ along. And he embodies the importance of keeping one’s imagination open.
At the Vancouver Fringe Festival. Remaining performances at the Waterfront Theatre: September 9, 10:30 pm; September 12, 3:00 pm; September 14, 7:00 pm, September 16, 4:25 pm; September 17, 8:05 pm. PLUS one performance at Leap Creative Studios (also livestreamed): September 11, 7:00 pm. That show will also be available to stream September 11 to September 18. Tickets for live performances. Tickets for all streaming shows.
0 Comments