Minneapolis theater uses modern tech to bring ancient tale to audiences (Star Tribune)
photo by Alex Wohlheuter for the 2019 Minnesota Fringe Festival
Theatrical presentation via Facebook — a first for Minnesota — makes this "Beowulf" hit home.
By Chris Hewitt Star Tribune — MARCH 30, 2020 — 9:22AM
The final line of the one-man "Beowulf" — "Get out there and do, before you're done" — is tricky in our "stay home" era, but that advice will remain powerful when we arrive at whatever the new normal looks like.
More than a millennium old, the epic poem "Beowulf" feels strikingly immediate in Walking Shadow Theatre Company's "virtual performance," particularly since the lone performer, John Heimbuch, is literally speaking directly to us.
In the first of what could be a wave of theater productions that temporarily connect with theatergoers via the internet, "Beowulf" is being performed on Facebook, with Heimbuch acting directly to a camera on a computer in his Minneapolis home. (You can pause the performance, I inadvertently discovered, and it remains available for a couple hours after showtime. You do not need to be a Facebooker to watch.)
The roughly one-hour piece, the Saturday performance of which was watched by about 60 people, was written by the late Charlie Bethel (and performed last year at the Minnesota Fringe Festival by Heimbuch).
Bits of language suggest that this "Beowulf," based on the oldest piece of literature we have, is still set in the Dark Ages, but it's not just the fact that you're watching it on your monitor at home that makes it feel modern.
