Venus

Frank Theatre continues its love affair with Suzan-Lori Parks, the contemporary African-American playwright, novelist, and screenwriter with a talent for sharp social commentary. Parks’ Obie Award-winning play Venus is based on the life story of Saartje Baartman, a legendary performer of South African descent who, in the early 1800s, traveled to London in hopes of striking it rich as a stage dancer. But instead, thanks to her profusely padded posterior, she wound up on the freak-show circuit, bearing the stage name “Venus Hottentot.” Baartman’s story is a tragic one; all her life, she was mocked and treated inhumanely. Her dubious performing career–possibly under circumstances of enslavement–sparked a court battle. She was subjected to scientific experiments. After her death at age twenty-six, her remains were displayed as an oddity at Paris’ Musee de l’Homme, where they remained until 1976, when finally her body was returned to South Africa for proper burial. Traffic Zone Center for Visual Art; 250 3rd Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612-724-3760; www.franktheatre.org