off-leash area: The Bellman's Song

THE BELLMAN'S SONG

"Audiences should be forewarned that this Minneapolis company's production is utter nonsense, but that's not being snarky- the script is based on Lewis Carroll's nonsense poem The Hunting of the Snark. Anyone who appreciates dance and physical theatre will enjoy this playfully dark (in a Tim Burton kind of way) and delightfully surreal tale of an old fisherman who is obsessed with his failure to catch the elusive Snark. The fisherman is played by the very talented Paul Herwig, a graduate of the famed Lecoq School of Movement and Theatre in Paris, and the old man's nurse is played by dancer/choreographer Jennifer Ilse, whose puckish characterization was spellbinding. Both performers delivered with clear and exaggeratedly funny voices. The creative staging, set design, costumes and lighting evoke some fantastical atmospheres in this highly entertaining show."

- Garth Bucholz, WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, July 7th, 1999

"You get caught up in their dream of what the Snark is... You get swept up in the energy of it... They use all these very innovative props for windows and back drops. This is great! It's a huge theatrical experience."

- Laurie Hoogstraten, CBC RADIO & TELEVISION, CANADA, July 9th, 1999

"Reading the gloriously nonsensical word whimsy of Lewis Carroll's poetry can lead one to experience an out-of-intellect sensation- kind of like reading Dr. Seuss... The performers paint parts of the set to represent fire and sky, draw pictures on the floor with shards of wood, and dance in the shadows of their futile journey. Carroll's jungle-gym of words can always conjure a chuckle. Many of the visual images and musical effects are arresting... As the Bellman says at one point, "Being lost is my natural state of mind..." Which, of course, is true for all those who pursue the impossible."

- Christine Howey, CITY PAGES, MINNEAPOLIS , September 15th, 1999.