Didn’t Hurt – Toronto Fringe 2019 Press Release

THE TORONTO FRINGE FESTIVAL PRESENTS
DIDN’T HURT

Wednesday, July 3 @ 9:45pm
Saturday, July 6 @ 12:45pm
Sunday, July 7 @ 5:30pm
Tuesday, July 9 @ 3:00pm
Thursday, July 11 @ 6:15pm
Friday, July 12 @ 9:30pm
Saturday, July 13 @ 8:30pm

RUNTIME: 75 minutes
VENUE: Tarragon Theatre Extraspace
30 Bridgeman Ave, Ontario, M5R 1X3
fringetoronto.com

Playwright / Creator Rodney DeCroo
/rodney.decroo @decroorodney @notesfromthequotidian
rodneydecroo.bandcamp.com rodneydecroo.com

Dramaturg / Director TJ Dawe
tjdawe.ca

Directed by revered fringe legend TJ Dawe, playwright and actor Rodney DeCroo tells his own story of growing up poor in a hard-asnailsworking class neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and isolated in the bush of Northern B.C. amidst violence, addiction,
suicidal thoughts, and being raised by a Vietnam war vet.

DeCroo’s story moves through his life from childhood (a tobacco-chewing 6-year-old boy who desperately wants to be a cowboy), to his anti-social adolescence, and finally, to his adulthood (how to destroy your music career and alienate your friends). His story is about toxic masculinity and learning to recover from it. It’s about being accountable, healing, and forgiveness. Didn’t Hurt looks at how PTSD can be named, harnessed, and exercised through
art, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and connecting with others.

Rodney DeCroo is an acclaimed Vancouver based
poet, singer-songwriter, playwright and actor with several collections of poetry and studio albums to his name. Didn’t Hurt is his second one-man show.

TJ Dawe is veteran of numerous Toronto Fringe Festivals, with shows such as The Slipknot, Labrador, Medicine, and many others.

Decroo can create a crystal-clear scene, rich in detail. From a child’s hero worship of cowboys to an adult getting a life-changing massage, the audience is there with him.
– ORLANDO SENTINEL

A creative powerhouse.
– CANADIAN BEATS

An intensely brave and heroic one-man show. There wasn’t a moment during the entire hour when I wasn’t completely riveted. Highly recommended.
– EDDIE SELOVER, PECHAKUCHA ORLANDO

A heart wrenchingly rough coming-of-age story.
– VUE MAGAZINE

A really insightful look into how PTSD develops, manifests and can be tamed. So yes, it’s heavy, and also touching and, for me, helpful. It’s given me even more space for compassion.
– SUNNI SARA VONMUTIUS, ANTISURVIVAL GUIDE

An unassuming yet mesmerizing performer.
– WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Few artists risk attempting it: turning something profoundly and deeply painful into a work of transformative beauty.
– GEORGIA STRAIGHT