There’s something happening at The Black Forest Inn on Nicollet ave in Minneapolis that you have to experience, and experience is the right word. There are options for seeing Feast, but I highly recommend trying to replicate my experience, which is to attend one of the performances when John Heimbuch is presenting his performance of Beowulf before hand. Then splurge for the full dinner and show version of Feast, though a limited number of show only seats are available at performances. This coproduction of the Walking Shadow Theatre Company and Black Forest Inn is really an inspired partnership, and the venue suits both shows perfectly, in fact I feel like they should be performed together on every date.

We began our evening by grabbing some NA drinks from the bar of the Black Forest Inn, but you can get alcohol enriched beverages as well, that part really isn’t important. Then we settled in as John Heimbuch told us the story of Beowulf as adapted from the Epic poem told to him by the late Charlie Bethel. I chose the word told rather than performed because that feels right, this felt like it owed more to the oral storytelling tradition that would have been common in the time when Beowulf was first written down than it does to modern theater. Heimbuch holds the audience captivated for what feels like it could not have been 60 minutes but was. Time flies by as you are mesmerized by his retelling of the tale of Beowulf, the monster Grendel, and Grendel’s mother. Filled with action, horror, and a very modern dash of humor, it’s the only way to experience Beowulf if you want it to come alive for you. Don’t read it in the original Olde English as I had to in college, if doesn’t come alive, it just lies there, it’s dead ege’s (translation from the Old English is Eyes) staring up at you. It’s a thrilling tale and Heimbuch has a gift for oral storytelling that conveys that excitement to the audience.

Next we used the restroom, that also isn’t really important, but after making a trip into the bar to use the facilities we later learned that there are two in the performance space, so…it kinda is useful information. Then while we ate our meals, there are three choices including one for the veggiesauruses. We were treated to some wonderful guitar playing by Scott Keever (some performances will feature Sycamore Gap), while we dined, this really is a nice way to enjoy a meal, being played music by a gifted musician, I highly recommend it for the digestion. Then It is time for Feast, which is a one woman show written by Megan Gogerty featuring Isabel Nelson as Grendel’s Mother from Beowulf, telling her side of the story. There is so much I want to say about this show, but I also want you to have the same experience I did, which was from the moment Nelson began her performance, not at all what I was expecting. And so I’m not going to tell you anymore about the show itself, just that you should experience it. Nelson’s performance is something you experience because she involves you in it. Don’t worry it’s not audience participation, the most you’ll be asked to do is eat something strange that she pulls out of one of the coolest props I’ve seen, which to give credit where it’s due was designed by Whittney Streeter. The other thing I can say without spoiling anything is that for a production put on in the party room of a restaurant the technical aspects of this show were really tight. Loved the sound design by Richard Graham and there is no lighting designer credited but they did something with the lights at one point that I didn’t expect and that was very effective. Feast is directed by Allison Vincent, who seems to excel at everything she’s involved in from writing, directing, and performing, and this is another home run.

This is a remount of their sold out 2023 run, so don’t wait to get tickets there are several dates already sold out in this run that just opened. Feast runs through March 30th at the Black Forest Inn in Minneapolis, Beowulf is available as a second ticket on 3/16 and 3/23, get both if you can! For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.walkingshadow.org/feast-2024/

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