The concept is exactly what’s advertised: three goblins meet the audience in the lobby, looking to put on a show by their favourite writer. One pulls out his favourite text, a massive tome of collected works of William Shakespeare.
Of course a group of goblins would gravitate to Macbeth, that most dour and deceitful of characters whose legend is shrouded in mystery, witchcraft and bloodshed.
First, a quick recap. Macbeth, a duke in Scotland, is visited by three witches who tell him he will be king. His friend, Banquo, will be the father of the next king. Our protagonist decides to take matters into his own hands, hastening his rise and securing his place as the top dog in the land.
As you might expect, the source material has a full roster of characters, normally played by a wide cast of humans. Our three goblins — Kragva, Moog and Wug — will take on multiple roles, performing multiple characters within the same scene. One goblin will be doing all of the music and sound effects for the production, essentially limiting the players to two goblins.
But fret not, this isn’t some small-town, two-person local theatre attempting a full recreation of the source material on a barebones budget. This is fourth-wall-breaking Shakespearian drama replete with commentary on the material and a heavy dose of swearing. There’s something about a good curse word thrown into the most unexpected of places that can pull a laugh. Maybe that’s the best time, when the swear comes in unexpectedly and breaks the building tension.
Macbeth has never been this laugh-out-loud funny, a raucous tale of murder, deceit, the occult and the downright strange wrapped up in a thousand guffaws. They jump out of the scene to make a joke, poking fun at pronunciations or even sparing with their fellow thespians.
The show is produced by Spontaneous Theatre, a group known for their improv-heavy productions. Goblin: Macbeth has some minor audience participation, but no one will be called up on stage or asked embarrassing questions.
The three goblins are played by Rebecca Northan, Bruce Horak and Ellis Lalonde, with some help from a few humans from the Citadel production crew on lights and sound. They are draped in black from head to toe, with large prosthetic masks making the goblin transformation complete.
The straightforward costumes match the nearly spartan set dressing: three mirrors, a few chairs, a crown and a few knives. It’s not much, but Kragva, Moog and Wug do such an amazing job pulling the audience into the action on stage it’s really all they require.
It should be said that this is still Macbeth, still the Scottish Play that fans of Shakespeare have been heading out on theatre nights for more than four centuries to take in. If you aren’t a fan of iambic pentameter or the works of the bard, it might not hit the same.
But for fans of Shakespeare, Goblin: Macbeth is the type of irreverent reinvention that will drag you to the Citadel for multiple viewings. They poke fun at the show, they poke fun at themselves, they poke fun at the audience, but most of all they just have fun and that fun is infectious.
Goblin: Macbeth
When: until Feb. 2
Where: The Citadel Theatre, 9828 101 A Ave.