The Nosdrahcir Sisters

(NAHZ-drah-ker) The imaginative lives of two quiet ladies. Teacups triumph, aliens say beep and mermaids shop in the produce aisle. A mishmash of clown, movement and object theatre, where everything is funny, even the sad.

Photo by Eric Melzer.


THE NOSDRACHIR SISTERS are back! And sharing an evening with 3Sticks as a part of Fringe Favorites at the Southern Theater, January 23rd-25th in Minneapolis.

The cast

Kimberly Richardson
Role: Dusty Nosdrahcir
Kimberly Richardson (Dusty) graduated with a BFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City in 2000, then moved to the Twin Cities. Here, Kimberly has acted with Ten Thousand Things (Twelfth Night), The Children's Theatre Company (A Special Trade), Four Humors Theater (Romeo and Juliet), Josef Evans (Love in a Time of Rinderpest), and Chaos Theories Theatre (Crave), and puppeteered with Open Eye Figure Theatre (Driveway Tour). She has danced with Paula Mann, Deborah Jinza Thayer, Penelope Freeh and many others, and was honored with a Minneapolis dance community Sage Award for Outstanding Performer in 2006. Interested in the intersection of dance and theatre, Kimberly has been a frequent collaborator with clown and physical theatre artists Jon Ferguson (Please Don't Blow Up Mr. Boban, We are Ugly But We Have the Music) and Live Action Set (The Piano Tuner, The Percussionist), and, more recently, Katie Kaufmann (Aftermath), and Shawn McConneloug and HER Orchestra (Force/ Matter). Upcoming: 800 Words (Workhaus Collective).

Sara Richardson
Role: Hildegard Nosdrahcir
Sara Richardson originally hails from Albany, NY, but is happy to have called Minneapolis home for the past five years. Previously at the Southern Theater: the recently co-created, acclaimed work, You're My Favorite Kind of Pretty (with Jon Ferguson). Sara has also had the pleasure of working locally with Genevieve Bennett, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Workhaus Collective, Burning House Group, Jon Hassler Theater, Sandbox Theatre, Four Humors, 3Sticks, Playwright Center, Brave New Workshop Corporate, and Minnesota Orchestra, among others. As a director and ensemble-based theatre creator, her work has been seen in Minneapolis, New York and France at the NY Clown Theatre Festival, Red Eye Theatre Works in Progress, Foolfest, Festival des Tombees de la Nuit, Le Bouquin Affame, and Clastic Theatre. Upcoming: God's Ear (Red Eye Theater, Apr 09) and Beyond the Owing (G. Bennett / Red Eye Theater, Jul 09). Sara trained at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY and Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris, France.

Showtimes

Fri., Aug. 1 @ 5:30 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 3 @ 1:00 p.m.
Tue., Aug. 5 @ 8:30 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 8 @ 10:00 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 10 @ 2:30 p.m.

Show details

Venue: U of M Rarig Center Xperimental

Duration: 60 minutes

For ages 13+

Created by Kimberly and Sara Richardson (no relation)

Genres: Comedy

Overall rating

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User reviews

Making It Work
by Richard Shields Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This show provides us with an example of what happens when talented performers decide to link a series of apparently unconnected events together in a creative way. By creating two sisters who live together and share aspects of their daily life, they lay a foundation for connecting the crazy actions they engage in. From supermarket shopping to talking with mom to watching TV these ordinary daily events are given comic aspects by the use of common props, fast pace action and clever facial expressions.

This show was like seeing the Marx brothers minus one, but as sisters!

Tijuana Brass, Aliens, and a mermaid
by dixie treichel Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Really funny and creative. Great timing and mixture of material. Hope they come back next year.

Richardson = Awesome
by Ben Thietje Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
It's true. Do the math.

Stop! You're running over my tail!"
by Dave Romm Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Innocent waifs inhabit a q quirky world and invite the audience. Kids won't get the music cues, but they'll enjoy watching the silliness. Three and a half stars rounded up for using the Arena Theater's multi-level stage. A Shockwave Radio Theater Review.

Longer reviews with pictures at Baron Dave's LiveJournal.

So cute I just wanna bash something!
by David Lee Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
If you like Sara, AND if you like Kimberly... chances are that you'll love this show. It's cute, endearing, quirky, touching, hilarious, odd, and smart.
I saw opening and it could have been tighter, but it's well worth your time.

Breadth instead of depth
by Fringivitis Vulgaris Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
Clearly these folks are having fun with their show! Their brand of Silly comes in many forms. They did manage to get '80's music stuck in my head all night!

above the rest
by sasha andreev Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This show is one of the best you'll see in the Fringe this year. You'll find yourself laughing at the subtlest of things - and this show is full of humorous and touching moments, reflecting the ideas of communication and human interconnectedness in a fun, inventive, and hilarious way. It's a series of vignettes that may not initially seem cohesive - but trust me, they are. Definitely check this show out.

I'd love to see it again
by True Enough Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
It's all been said already, but I just wanted to add my voice to all the others to proclaim how much we enjoyed this show. If the Fringe schedule allowed (it doesn't), I'd love to see it again.

Hee Hee Hee!
by Heather Stone Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Sit in the front row. I laughed a lot. Had a great time. I plan to steal things to add to my actor bag of tricks. These lovely ladies are talented.

lovely
by theater attender Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
sweet, touching, often hilarious show. great physical comedy and rapport between the richardson ladies. one of the great joys of this year's fringe.

Goofy and poignant
by Florence Brammer Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
What a quirky show! Such incredible physicality and a poignancy that sneaks up on you. The interwoven scenes deal with connectedness and disconnectedness with a light, comedic approach, but also with empathy and humanity. For example, a seemingly inconsequential pirate prop becomes a key component in a highly charged emotional scene. Very special and worthwhile.

Clowns and a Cart
by Caitlin Sheaffer Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
I really enjoyed this show. I smiled almost the whole way through it. Sara and Kim Richardson are delightful to watch. Every moment of the show was filled with childlike wonder and discovery, with a healthy dose of the bizarre. Highly recommended.

My cheeks still hurt!
by Jamey Leonard Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
My cheeks hurt from laughing and smiling throughout the hour of this show. The physical characterization was incredible.

This is my funny weiver!
by paulino brener Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Very funny show (or whos!). These sisters will make you laugh a lot. Guaranteed! Don't miss the opportunity to have a peek into this wonderful world created by the Richardson actors. No red nose required to enjoy the show. :0)

Unexpectedly touching
by James Proescholdt Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
What starts off as a series of goofy sketches of physical humor and quirky personalities actually develops into a heartwarming show about people's interconnectedness. Both funny and poignant, but be warned: it leaves you with the desire to go grocery shopping dressed as a pirate.

I changed my mind
by Kristi Lawless Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
When the show started, I thought "Oh no, what have I gotten myself in for? It's like watching two little girls playing silly." Then, the charm of this show began to catch me. I loved the melons, the S.A.D. light, groceries, phone call, yep, like I said, it begins to cast a spell. The only thing I could have done a little less with was the alien stuff--just a tad less. Otherwise, nicely done!

Such a joy.
by Theo Langason Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
This show made me really happy. Like a kid on Christmas. See it, see it, see it. I might go see it again.

great show
by peter guertin Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Funny, very clever show. Great job.

Ariel's been through the ringer
by Jim Lee Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
A six-kitty performance. This quirky, delightful show has me charmed. I'm haunted by the many poignant moments. I LOVED the mermaid with her Sophie's Choice dilemma. This engaging show is playful, fun, quirky, innovative, tragic and heartbreaking. It touches on choices we make to enjoy being alone together.

good work
by Crummy Reviewer Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
great performance, inspiring to two see people to in touch with each others comic/human rhythms. The mermaid with the melons--that was the best part. I little long in the last third. The naturalistic human connection (bits with the mother) would be a great way to accelerate us to the end.

(I'm committed to writing tough reviews this year... cuz the debate is important... the bad shows need more reviews, so put your energy there)

Love it!
by Elise Langer Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Love the ladies, love the outfits, love the whole thing!
This show is touching, hilarious, and so much fun.
They must be related, they have perfect timing!
Hooray for aerobics and sugar cubes!

See it if you can
by Dave Larson Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This is why I go to the Fringe - see a random show, and it's quirky and very funny. You wonder where this stuff comes from. It's hard to describe, but the performers are winning and delightful. My favorite so far.

Laugh and cry
by Robert Kovarik Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I highly recommend this clever and witty production. Lots of humor balanced with some serious and touching slices of life. Great energy and charming performances throughout!

Delightful!
by Erica Mauter Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This show was so freakin' delightful. I love quirk and this show is full of it. For once, the show description is actually pretty accurate (instead of just trying to be catchy). There's something really enjoyable about watching people (or characters) truly enjoy themselves even when you think what they're doing is weird. This is my favorite show of the Fringe so far (all two days of it).

I understand the mermaid's pain
by Bill Stiteler Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
The lives of these two clownish sisters made for a fun hour of inspired strangeness.

Pure joy
by David McKay Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
These sisters are so wonderfully inventive, fun and quirky that you will instantly fall in love with their characters. The show also had the benefit of being very fringey, very original and risk taking. Their venue is way, way too small, get there early to be sure to get one of what seems like only a dozen seats!

Charming Alien Sisters
by megan holm Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I left the theatre singing from this touching, funny, and inspiring piece. The two sisters Dusty and Hildy seem to occupy there own little space in the universe, and I wanted to join them. I highly recommend this show.

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