Preview: AXIS Dance Company on March 21

by  MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN On Friday, March 21, one of the world’s most innovate dance ensembles will be performing at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts.  Under the artistic direction of Judith Smith, AXIS Dance Company “challenges the possibilities of movement.” Founded in 1987, they have paved the way for a powerful contemporary dance…

Tristan & Yseult

by SOPHIE KERMAN The story of Tristan and Yseult (or Isolde) has been told and re-told for centuries, from the original 12th-century French romance to Wagner’s 19th-century opera to Ridley Scott’s fairly atrocious 2006 adaptation. Such a long history provides the freedom to take a few liberties, to push and pull the tale into new forms…

The Naked I: Insides Out

by TAMAR NEUMANN This February experiences a different kind of love story – one that doesn’t stick to traditional heterosexual or homosexual norms. Instead it focuses on stories that are rarely heard, stories that explore queer and trans* experiences. The 20% Theatre Company, known for promoting the work of female and transgender theatre artists, has…

Schiller’s Mary Stuart

By MIRA REINBERG The year 1800, when Schiller (the German poet, playwright, and philosopher) published his play Mary Stuart, was one moment in a formidable transformation in European aesthetic understanding.The conception of history was turning away from the rational terms of Enlightenment philosophy whereby art strives to be a true representation of life, to an…

A Kind of Love Story

Aisle Say Twin Cities is pleased to introduce its newest reviewer, Tamar Neumann, an adjunct English professor who also writes for the St Paul Community Reporter! by TAMAR NEUMANN A Kind of Love Story begins with the frank admission that this is a love story. It’s a story we’ve heard a thousand times before: Boy meets…

Ash Land

by SOPHIE KERMAN If you haven’t heard of Transatlantic Love Affair yet, you might be a little bit behind the curve. The company has been creating its own brand of physical theatre since 2010, and has been picking up Ivey Awards and annual Fringe Favorites left and right ever since. Their ability to captivate audiences year after…