It's been three years since Ten Thousand Things has been able to fulfill their mission of bringing theater to those who would otherwise never experience it, performing in prisons, community centers, shelters, and other public spaces. It feels like a good sign that maybe we're moving beyond the pandemic, or learning how to live with it, that they're able to perform in these spaces that have been deemed unsafe for the past few years. They're also back at their home base for public performances -
Open Book on Washington in Minneapolis. Even though I've seen a few TTT shows at various other spaces in the last few years, for some reason this small brick-walled wood-floored room above this more-than-a-bookstore (with its coffee shop reopening soon) feels like the TTT of old. And what a perfect show to return with - Lynn Nottage's
Mlima's Tale, following the journey of a "big tusker" elephant through his life in the Kenyan bush, his death at the hands of poachers, and even the journey of his tusks in the ivory market. It's funny and fantastical and tragic, and as always beautifully brought to life by some of #TCTheater's best artists in a small space with "All the Lights On," harnessing the power of collective imagination as we travel the world with Mlima.
See it at Open Book now through March 12.
