Goblin Macbeth: "It is a tale, told by" goblins, "full of sound and fury, Signifying" everything
22 Oct 2023

by Drew Rowsome - Photos by Tim Nguyen

Shakespeare is, theoretically and by reputation, infinitely malleable. The plays are, theoretically and by reputation, so artfully constructed and thematically resonant, so full of knowledge of the human condition, that they are timeless. Thus they can be set in any era or setting in order to amplify internal ideas or to comment on the past, the present or future. Thus we see Richard II set at Studio 54 and  a bathhouse, or A Midsummer Night's Dream set in a more traditional circus. But Goblin Macbeth may push the conceptual reframing of Shakespeare farther than even the bard or his trio of clairvoyant weird sisters could ever have imagined. That it does so hilariously and insightfully, while also presenting a credible and moving version of Macbeth, is an astounding and unexpected feat.

The basic premise is simple. Three goblins—Wug, Cragva and Moog—are exploring one of Stratford's theatres. Their curiosity is aroused by the props they find so they ask for audience member assistance with ascertaining just what some things are and what alternate uses they can be put to. The most important treasure that the goblin's unearth is a large hardbound collection of the works of William Shakespeare, rumoured to contain all of humanity's knowledge. The goblins decide to "do theatre" to try to understand humans better. They choose Macbeth because it is "our favourite." Or "the shortest." Or "the one with the most blood." The goblins are a bloodthirsty lot and they coerce/threaten a hapless "Lili" into working the lights. A worse fate awaits her assistant. This is the one place where Goblin Macbeth is slightly flawed. While the goblins are supposedly dangerous, they become comical and interactive to the point where they no longer inspire any fear. The slight frisson of unease that scurried through the theatre when it was demonstrated that the goblins do gleefully kill and devour humans, would have leant a sharper, meaner edge to what followed.

However, what follows is uproarious. I usually abhor audience participation, in this case I quite willingly bought in, turns out goblins are quite persuasive, and rode the energy of the collective experience. Of course, this being Stratford, there were no unwilling participants, in fact there was a bit of a competition to supplant the goblins onstage, or to upstage their Shakespearean scholarship. The goblins begin by sincerely trying to present the text, to understand it and elucidate. This involves inventive multi-tasking and an astonishing variety of vocal and physical manipulations to differentiate characters from deep within latex masks and non-descript Nosferatu garb. It works so wonderfully that I suspect the number of hires for next season will be cut in half and replaced by goblins. Lady Macbeth's "Out, out damned spot" monologue gets a bizarre twist that resonates within Goblin Macbeth and peers askew at Macbeth. Macbeth's "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow" monologue is presented so hauntingly and eloquently that it stops the show as surely as an 11 o'clock number. And this is mere minutes after the goblins had bickered over Shakespeare's writing asking, "Has the quality of anyone's life improved by the knowledge of internal rhymes?"

Without any warning, Goblin Macbeth launches itself past Shakespeare, combining comedy, parody, deconstruction and scholarship, into a unique species of its own. There is Monty Python-esque wordplay, topical one-liners (the goblin take on gender brought down the house), a bit cribbed from Tim Conway's Carol Burnett Show days, and the "Smoke on the Water" riff played on an accordion. A goblin dismisses the hard-working  musical goblin saying, "He chose the accordion, he's already dead inside," but the musical accompaniment is pointed and sharp. At one point even lush with that accordion and a kazoo managing to conjure a full symphonic Celtic overture. There are little details among the broad strokes, a goblin opens an umbrella 13 times while walking under a ladder before taking on roles in a play so cursed that its name is never spoken. Except by goblins. Goblin Macbeth is equally fearless, it may appear freewheeling and spontaneous, as if it all hangs together in sloppy haphazard genre-hopping glory, but it builds relentlessly and smoothly to a climax of exquisite catharsis extolling the nature of theatre. The goblins "do theatre" and discover a wonderful, emotionally moving truth about humanity. 

The program notes, which are a hilarious off-kilter diversion of their own, "actively discourage you from seeking out the identity of our players." It's a shame as they do deserve credit for pulling off a strenuous high-wire act and making it look supernaturally easy. Ellis Lalonde is billed as "Musician" so his secret is out, and co-creators Rebecca Northan and Bruce Horak (who were also instrumental in two other genre-blurring creations: Blind Date and Undercover) are identified in the publicity photos. However I am quite content with believing that I spent an invigorating, intellectually challenging, and gut-bustingly funny 90 minutes with Wug, Cragva and Moog, presenting a stunning and startling production of Macbeth.