2 Ruby Knockers, 1 Jaded Dick: A Dick Darrow Investigation

CBC:

Company: Tim Motley

Genre: Play Comedy

Venue:4 Alloway Hall (Manitoba Museum)

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(Reviewed at the Toronto Fringe Festival - July 1-12)

Australian comedian and magician Time Motley takes us into a 1930s speakeasy, where crime sprees abound and the dames are lethal. The whodunit plotline that unfolds winds its way around magic, psychic readings, and card tricks. It is fun and funny.

Motley plays a hard-boiled detective who is a master crafter of puns, (though I lost track of the number of times he made double entendres about the word "dick").Lots of audience participation will make each show unique, as Motley tries to convince us he's reading the minds of the folks attending.

And he may leave you thinking he's pulled it off -- in the performance I saw, he accurately predicted audience members' favourite colours, movies, and the destination of their next trip. How? Trying to figure that out is a big part of the fun here.

But it doesn't take a mind reader to see that Motley is an excellent storyteller, and he weaves together his unique mix of magic and murder in an extremely entertaining way.

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