Dancing Henry Five

With the American psyche thoroughly addled from attention deficits and hyperactivity and sensory overload, it could be that many of us are physically unable to sit through four hours of Shakespeare–especially the super-sized political epic Henry V. With that in mind, we especially appreciate artistic efforts to distill Shakespeare’s work into more approachable forms. Performance art forefather David Gordon and his Pick Up Performance Company are aces at this kind of thing. Walker Art Center has invited them here to perform Dancing Henry Five, five acts of warfare and sexual scandal slimmed down to a sleek one-hour performance, with archaic text translated into an innately accessible form–movement. It’s kind of like taking a whole roasted chicken and making it into bite-sized yet still mighty tasty nuggets. Pantages Theater, 700 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-673-0404; www.walkerart.org