Ligustrum Vulgare

Jon Ferguson—the director who last year presented the masterful antiwar play Please Don’t Blow Up Mr. Boban—now tightens his focus on tinier, everyday battles. The seeds of his latest project were planted years ago, when Ferguson happened on a newspaper article about a Brit who ended up shooting his neighbor in a dispute over the appropriate height for a hedge. Ligustrum Vulgare (that’s Latin for privet hedge) explores the circumstances that might have led to such an act. By casting a trio of actors with “qualities of stillness and melancholy,” and often leaving them to improvise, Ferguson also touches on the awkward act of making small talk with the folks next door. 810 W. Lake St., Minneapolis; 612-825-8949; www.bryantlakebowl.com