Goblin: Macbeth A Spontaneous Theatre creation
Now on stage at Toronto's Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Avenue
Jae Yang
Joe Szekeres
“Bizarre, macabre, and so damn good. This fantastical, wacky telling of ‘Macbeth’ will draw young people to the theatre. A Voice Choice as it’s a must see.”
William Shakespeare’s shortest but one of his bloodiest plays of murder, witches, blood and revenge is now on stage at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre. Three outlandishly adorable Goblins tell it. One carries their Good Book (The Complete Works of William Shakespeare).
The Goblins want to know more about the playwright of ‘Macbeth,’ the story of a man who hungrily wants to become King of Scotland and will do anything to further his vaulting ambition. They tell their audience they will ‘attempt’ to make theatre and present this tragic tale, albeit with some intentional humour. A point of interest – the three Goblins are solid performers, and I’ll note some of their dramatic highlights shortly.
These three adorable Goblins, Wug, Moog and Kragva, remain wickedly quick-witted and love verbal repartee with the audience pre-show and during the performance. They also have a thing for blood, which is strongly evident at one point. It’s a hilarious moment when that happens.
Tarragon and Spontaneous Theatre Creation have aptly timed staging this ‘Macbeth.’ We’re approaching that time of year again of witches, ghosts and things that go bump in the night this Hallowe'en.
‘Goblin: Macbeth’ remains a bona fide Voice Choice to open Tarragon’s 2024 season.
In the fall of 2023, I saw the production in Stratford and wanted to pay another visit. It was an entertaining evening of theatre then, yet it wasn’t a Voice Choice.
This time, it is.
Why?
For one, Philip Edwards' Matrix-inspired costume designs are eye-catching and successfully pay homage to the film. Anton DeGroot's lighting design skillfully combines shadowy darkness with brightly lit focal points to set the appropriate mood. The projection on the back wall, depicting Birnam Wood, serves as a haunting reminder of the inevitable for Shakespeare's protagonist.
Another reason for this Voice Choice?
Wug, Moog, and Kragva devilishly shine in their performances. Once again, they’re adorable. They look horrific and terrific. I wanted to touch their pointy ears. Note: I didn’t.
The three of them have tremendous fun throughout and that exuberance spills over into the audience. During the pre-show, they exit a car billowing with smoke and many theatre props that appear crammed inside. The three grandly enter Tarragon’s main stage theatre in a ‘grotesque, charismatic style’ that infectiously charmed me. While setting props and items in place, Wug, Moog, and Kragva adroitly practice that fantastic art of audience improv. That’s tough for any actor to do. It becomes an exercise in expertise watching them kibbitz with aplomb.
And so much fun to watch.
However, Wug, Moog, and Kragva continue not to be mere clowns. They remain entirely focused and aware of what’s coming next. As the pacing naturally flows from scene to scene, Wug, Moog and Kragva never allow their playfulness to derail from the story. Their task remains to heighten the tragedy. This is most evident in the banquet scene where the murdered Banquo’s ghost appears.
Wug nicely layers and captures the emotional gamut of Macbeth’s highs and lows in his pursuit to become King of Scotland. His ‘Tomorrow and tomorrow’ speech cuts deep to the heart in his understanding of the devastating loss he thought he was to have experienced near the end. Kragva’s Lady Macbeth captures some genuinely comic moments as Macbeth’s wife, such as when she asks the spirits to unsex her as she reads her husband’s letter aloud. The pairing of comedy with the realization of what happens to Lady Macbeth at the end of the play makes for a moment of silence from the audience when the audience hears what has happened. Moog’s musical accompaniment effectively continues the right amount of humour and pathos to the plot.
Final Thoughts: Last year in Stratford, the names of the artists directly involved with the production were in the programme. This year, in the unsigned director’s Tarragon programme note, future audiences are told to discourage themselves from seeking out the identity of the players, allow the Goblins to work their magic on them, and let the play hit them in new ways.
That clinched the Voice Choice delineation this time. Let the work and the characters take me away to another space and time.
This ‘Goblin: Macbeth’ worked its magic on me. Yes, it's bloody as hell at times. Yes, there are witches and murder and spirits.
But that's the fun of the piece. I wish I could have taken high school students to experience this opportunity before I retired.
High school teachers, are you listening?
Running time: approximately one hour and forty minutes with no interval/intermission.
‘Goblin: Macbeth’ runs until November 3 on the Mainstage at Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Avenue, Toronto. For tickets: tarragontheatre.com or call the Box Office (416) 531-1827.
TARRAGON THEATRE presents A SPONTANEOUS THEATRE CREATION
GOBLIN: MACBETH
Creative Team:
Chris Oldfield, Dustyn Wales: Associate Producers
Philip Edwards: Costume Designer
Anton DeGroot: Lighting Designer
Jaxun Maron: Assistant Lighting Designer
Dustyn Wales: Stage Manager
Composite Effects: Masks
The Performers: Kragva, Moog, Wug
The world premiere was produced in 2022 by The Shakespeare Company and Hit and Myth Productions in Calgary, Alberta.