Walking Shadow Theatre Company’s “Feast” Is a Call to Action in 2026

Walking Shadow Theatre Company has brought Feast, a one-woman show inspired by Beowulf, back for its third run at the Black Forest Inn in Minneapolis. It is as much a retelling as it is a modern social commentary, a call to action, and an exploration of what it means to love and lose. Beowulf is an Old English epic poem likely written between 975 and 1025 CE. It tells the story of the eponymous warrior, who kills a monster, Grendel, only to be targeted by Grendel’s mother, seeking to avenge her son’s death. The mother character is unnamed, known only as “Grendel’s mother,” or by epithets such as “Grundwyrgen” (“sea hag”). Beowulf slays Grendel’s mother, is lauded as a hero, and becomes a king. In Feast, written by Megan Gogerty, we hear the perspective of the mother (who I will simply call “Mother” for the sake of simplicity and avoiding