Retelling BEOWULF. Again
Almost a year ago, Marcus Kyd was mired deep in memorization and uncertainty, possibly regretting a few ambitious life choices but determined to press on. He was on the brink of opening a new piece with Taffety Punk Theatre Company (where he’s a founding member) that left him alone on stage for its entirety–in a retelling of the iconic heroic legend of Beowulf.
Written as well as performed by Kyd, with direction by fellow company member Chris Curtis, Beowulf: a Retelling dared to strip away nearly all the reassuring props, gimmicks, safety rails, and other trappings that can help bolster a play (and an actor). Instead, it imagined the tale re-told by a single voice–Kyd–for the spellbound audience there with him, in the moment.
So successful was the result that Kyd and Taffety Punk are remounting it. From February 12-28, they will transform Capitol Hill Arts Workshop into an Old English mead hall, resounding with the centuries-old saga of Beowulf’s heroic battle to save his community from the depredations of the monster, Grendel.
Harkening back to bards of old, Kyd narrates the tale directly to listeners in a pop-up bar, weaving in music and song along with references to similar heroes old and new–but with little else in the way of dramatic or theatrical spectacle. Just him, his voice, the story, and an audience’s rapt imagination. The aim being, with minimalism, to provide intimate depth and immediacy to this oldest surviving English-language epic.
You can hear Kyd’s reflections in our conversation here:
And for more information and tickets, go to https://www.taffetypunk.com/
