Aya Ogawa: The Nosebleed
Photo: Brian Rogers
Thu–Sat, Jan 25–27, 8 pm
McGuire Theater, Walker Art Center
Tickets: $20-28
Presented in partnership with the Walker Art Center’s Out There festival, a beloved winter tradition that theater lovers flock to every January, and Twin Cities treasure Theater Mu, the second largest Asian American theater organization in the country.
Innovative playwright, performer, translator, and director Aya Ogawa’s hit Obie Award-winning show, The Nosebleed, irreverently and boldly delves into what it takes to forgive through a series of absurd autobiographical vignettes. A trip to Ogawa’s home country of Japan, a child’s nosebleed, and the reality TV show The Bachelor come together in this darkly comical and psychologically insightful theatrical tribute to Ogawa’s father.
Content and Sensory Notes: This performance contains sudden loud sounds, fog, the depiction of a nosebleed, depiction of estrangement with a parent, depiction and mentions of death, use of profanity, microaggressions, and mentions of sexual harassment.
Copresented with Walker Art Center and Theater Mu.
The Nosebleed was co-presented by Japan Society and the Chocolate Factory Theater in October 2021. Produced by Lincoln Center Theater in New York City, 2022.
About the Artist
Aya Ogawa is an award-winning Brooklyn-based playwright, director, performer and translator whose work reflects an international viewpoint and utilizes the stage as a space for exploring cultural identity, displacement and other facets of the immigrant experience. Cumulatively, all aspects of their artistic practice synthesize their work as an artistic and cultural ambassador, building bridges across cultures to create meaningful exchange amongst artists, theaters and audiences both in the U.S. and in Asia. They challenge traditional notions of the American aesthetic and identity by creating performances infused with a multiplicity of perspectives and languages, and by incorporating influences from outside the U.S.—of style, form, and content. As a theater-maker, they frequently use a collaborative creative process with performers and designers and push the form with an eye not only on spoken text, but physicality, musicality, and interactivity.
“Ogawa’s unsentimental play eschews bitterness in favor of kindness, humor and emotional complexity.” —The New York Times
“Filled with profundity and delirious beauty.” —Gothamist
Artist accommodations generously provided by Canopy by Hilton Minneapolis Mill District and Aloft Minneapolis.
