John Heimbuch in Beowulf Photo by Alex Wohlhueter

To sweeten the event, on Saturday evenings, Walking Shadow also presents a reprise of another one-act, one-actor play from its repertoire, Beowulf, by the late Charlie Bethel. Those performances begin at 6:00 p.m. and run one hour, allowing ample time for supper before Feast takes the stage at 7:30. To make the most of this opportunity, see Beowulf first, dine at Black Forest, and stay for Feast.

Aside from enjoying a swell meal in between two outstanding plays, by seeing Beowulf first you get a refresher course (or let's face it, for many of us, a first encounter) with the ancient saga, and thus an introduction to the character of Grendel's Mother, albeit the tale is told strictly from Beowulf's perspective. Well, of course it is, he is the hero of that play. But then, after a hearty meal, we meet Grendel's Mother (never given an actual name in the ancient saga) and hear her side of the story. You will go home having digested a balanced meal and a balanced myth.

Beowulf is performed by John Heimbuch, Walking Shadow's artistic director, and directed by Amy Rummenie. Heimbuch has been performing Beowulf for years, and the tale, which comes from an old English epic poem, seems baked into his psyche. He does not portray any one character, but as the narrator he takes on the voice and demeanor of all the characters, each sturdily laced to the whole by Heimbuch's compelling characterizations and the fluidity of Bethel's text.

Heimbuch's narration of the saga, differentiating the characters and conveying not only the action, but the emotional tenor of every scene, is astonishing. It is done without scenery, special lighting, sound effects, or costumes–only a table and throne-like chair. His only prop is a glass from which he occasionally takes a gulp, no doubt to hydrate his voice, which gets a good workout during the show, and at times raising it in a toast, as feasting and toasting have their place within the saga.

Beowulf is a brave and brazen warrior who arrives from England on the shores of Denmark, where the monster Grendel has laid siege on the populace. Beowulf and his men–but mainly Beowulf–defeat Grendel and then destroy Grendel's avenging Mother. Beowulf is celebrated and richly rewarded by the Danish people and their king before returning to England a hero. There, he lives a celebrated life, which comes to an end as he defeats one final monster, this one assailing his English homeland.

Isabel Nelson in Feast Photo by John Heimbuch

Only then do we realize that she is the host of the meal we have just enjoyed. Her invitation to dine was a decoy to bring us to what she calls "truth and reconciliation" council, listening to her account of how she, the mother of Grendel, murdered a son of heroic Beowulf as a trap meant to destroy Beowulf himself. After all, hadn't Beowulf murdered her son? Not only that, but he had desecrated Grendel's body by ripping off one of her son's arms and affixing it over the mantle like a trophy. She meant to have vengeance and justifies everything she did to achieve it. She tells us, never doubting her logic, "Sometimes it's okay to desecrate a body."

Her confessional transitions into a call to arms. She steers us to ask when is it right to, as she has done, rage against power? Our host cites statistics about the relatively small number of billionaires on Earth–a few thousand–whose wealth enables them to control the other nine billion human beings on the planet. Her case for their overthrow is cogent, and her unfamiliar moral code (she is, after all, a sea hag), makes her suggestions seem, in that context, utterly reasonable. As she earlier stated, describing the futility of Grendel's efforts to argue his case against Beowulf using logic, "You can't negotiate with a mosquito." And yet, how do we come to classify human beings as mosquitoes?

Feast runs about 75 minutes and Nelson holds our focus for every second. Gogerty–who is both a playwright and a comedian–fluctuates the play's tone between the raging confessions of a deranged sea hag and the bitterly funny commentary of a chatty woman who might be sunbathing in the next deck chair. An example of the latter: in her continued efforts to cast aspersions at Beowulf, she drolly announces "and get this: he's not even from here!"

Nelson is mesmerizing, physically as well as mentally engaged every moment, comical one minute and raging with venom the next. When I saw the performance three years ago, I summed up my impression with "All I can say is wow!" That still holds, while the changes since then in our national dynamics make her message all the more urgent.

Allison Vincent directs the piece. I couldn't begin to tell where the director's work ends and the actor's picks up, but as Vincent is a fellow veteran of Transatlantic Love Affair, I imagine their collaboration to be exceedingly fluid. Richard Graham designed sounds that add color to the spoken descriptions, such as the clatter of a noisy ale room occupied by warriors celebrating their success. Whittney Streeter designed what are called "special props," which I assume includes the sea hag's oversized glowing heart, which, she determines, causes her to love too much.

Black Forest Inn is a long-standing German restaurant in the heart of Minneapolis' "Eat Street" district. It is not a typical theatre venue–it lacks stage lighting or even a stage, but so what? Dinner is served from a choice of entrees ordered in advance, with live music performed during the meal by either Scott Keever or the trio Sycamore Gap on alternating dates. Both are in the vein of Celtic/Nordic/Gaelic folk music.

The plays are presented in an event space located just east of the main restaurant, which occupies the corner of 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue. Immediately south of Black Forest Inn, on Nicollet, is Glam Donuts, the shop from which Alex Pretti emerged before becoming embroiled with ICE agents while assisting a fallen protestor to get up from the street. Both sides of the street are marked in remembrance of Pretti.

There could be no stronger signal as to the urgency of Grendel's Mother's message to us, teetering as she does between devilish lunacy and clear-eyed wisdom. Her message gains in meaning in counterpoint to the tale of Beowulf, also a killer, but one that has, in the haze of time and English chauvinism, been morally extolled.

Feast, a Walking Shadow Theatre Company production, runs through March 29, 2026, at the Black Forest Inn, 1 East 26th Street, Minneapolis MN. A fixed price supper from Black Forest Inn is available before each performance. Tickets for the play only, without supper, are available. On Saturday evenings, March 7, 14, 21, and 28, Beowulf will be performed at 5:00 PM, before supper is served. For tickets and information, please call 612-375-0300 or visit walkingshadow.org.

Beowulf - Adapted by: Charlie Bethel; Dramaturg: Sarah Heller; Director: Amy Rummenie.

Cast: John Heimbuch

Feast -- Playwright: Megan Gogerty; Director: Allison Vincent; Sound Design: Richard Graham; Special Props Design: Whittney Streeter; Dramaturg: Gina Musto; Stage Manager: Brian Hir;

Cast: Isabel Nelson

Dinner Music: Scott Keever and Sycamore Gap, alternating performances.