By Galen Simmons
When I walked into the Studio Theatre to review Spontaneous Theatre and the Stratford Festival’s Goblin: Oedipus on opening night Oct. 17, I expected to watch a hilarious sendup of the famous Greek tragedy by the goblins, Wug, Kragva and Moog, similar to that of Goblin: Macbeth in 2023.
What I didn’t expect was to be singled out by one of the goblins (for the life of me, I couldn’t tell you which one), dragged onstage, given a red toga and a creepy white mask, and told I would be one of 12 male audience members to make up the Greek chorus – a fundamental theatrical device in ancient Greek drama consisting of a group of performers, traditionally men and boys, who comment on the action of the play, providing insight and context to the audience.
We were given a list of reactions, to be both spoken and acted out, to specific words from the play’s text and two poems to read at different points during the performance. As should be expected, they were all perfectly timed by the theatrical minds behind this play – Rebecca Northan, Bruce Horak and Ellis Lalonde – for comedic effect, especially when some of us (mostly me and the guy directly in front of me) missed our cues.
As a theatrical reviewer with the highest of ethical standards (yeah, right), I probably should have told the goblins I couldn’t be part of their chorus. I should have told them I needed to watch the production unfold from my assigned seat, just like everyone else, to maintain that all-important separation between the play and its reviewer.
After all, how can I offer up an honest review of this production when I was seated at the back of the stage trying not to get distracted by the hilarity happening in front of me so I wouldn’t forget to hit my mark? How can I review a play when I was part of it?
Have you ever said “no” to a goblin? It’s not easy. They can be very convincing.
So, if you’re looking for an unbiased review of this play, go read Ross’ review on his front mezz junkies theatre-review blog. It’s probably better than mine anyway.
What I can tell you without reservation is I had a blast being a small part of this production. From the strange and often comedic music performed by Moog and Wug’s remarkably stirring performance as King Oedipus, to Kragva’s hilariously exhausting performance as nearly every other character – except the Ambassador from Corinth, who Moog was adamant he’d play – Goblin: Oedipus was a laugh riot from start to finish without losing the gravity of perhaps one of the most horrifying and well-known conclusions in the history of theatre. If you know, you know.
Like Goblin: Macbeth, the best parts of this production involved the goblins’ improvised interactions with the audience and, for this play, the chorus. One of the high points of this production was when half of the chorus (thankfully, not my half) was invited to re-enact the murder of King Laius and his guards by Oedipus at the crossroads.
Armed with pool noodles, my fellow chorus members hilariously fought and died for their king, with one member of the chorus taking on the role of Laius and having the opportunity to do a little improvising of his own, to hilarious effect.
This type of improvisation, I’m happy to report, makes each performance of this production unique to the audience watching it, and I’m sure every performance will be equally as funny and entertaining.
So, whether you prefer to enjoy theatre from the comfort and safety of your seat or you’d like to be part of the action onstage, I can’t recommend strongly enough that you go see Goblin: Oedipus at the Stratford Festival before it ends.
Goblin: Oedipus runs at the Studio Theatre until Nov. 1.
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