Beowulf - A Thousand Years of Baggage, by Banana Bag and Bodice, part of the Emerging America Festival. Oberon, American Repertory Theater, Cambridge, MA, Friday, May 13, 2011.
Not so much a review as my hints on how to enjoy the show:
* Imagine Grendel is Osama bin Laden. Who does that make Beowulf? (The program notes say, "YOU".) Who does that make Grendel's mom? I'll leave that as food for thought.
* It's best to think of Beowulf as being played by three actors simultaneously: the main actor in costume, and the two chorus girls, each of whom depict a different aspect of his personality. His character makes more sense that way.
As usual, hooray for public domain (the tale of Beowulf), which allows innovative "derivative works" like this to be created without fear of copyright lawsuits. Curse the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act killing public domain for an entire generation!
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