"Noirish. Stark. Dramatic. Entertaining. A dark world, but well worth the visit." --Donna Parsons, nytheatre.com

"Powerful. Vivid. Insightful. Unsettling. Beautifully bleak and full of emotion." --Doug Devita, The Off Off Broadway Review

"Humanistic and humorous. Touching. Ends with a tragic revelation, but the lively characters and storytelling keep the audience upbeat nonetheless." -Elias Stimac, Backstage

"Dawson has a dead on ear and an unswerving sense of where his characters are headed. You wouldn't think of looking away any more than you'd think of getting between his characters and a bottle of scotch." --Joshua Tanzer, OffOffOff Theater

"Keenly observed writing and direction. It's the sort of gritty story at which Dawson excels. A rare Fringe treat." --Gutman, CurtainUp.com

"Ask any rational person if they’d prefer to be an alcoholic or not be one, and the latter choice seems obvious. Why, then, are so many of us compelled to stay out too late, have one too many, put the lampshade on our head? It’s because before it turns ugly, it’s undeniably glamorous. If you’d like a peek into this world while sparing your liver, head over to see Alex Dawson’s Room to Swing an Axe. But be warned. It’s gonna get ugly.

Dawson has clearly spent a fair amount of time in barrooms observing the behavior of the drinker. His dialogue is dead on. His direction of the piece succeeds in creating a mood of haunting emptiness. Room to Swing an Axe is terrific. Don’t miss the last call on this one." --Chris Toland, nytheatre.com