Something wicked is brewing at the Red Sandcastle Theatre! With their usual otherworldly flair, Eldritch Theatre is bringing its unique brand of kooky and spooky to William Shakespeare’s Macbeth with their production of Macbeth: “A Tale Told by an Idiot”. Puppetry, magic, and the Bard combine into an unforgettable performance which will terrify and delight!

Macbeth is the perfect play of the Bard’s to be Eldritch-ified; full of witches, mayhem, and murder most foul, Macbeth: “A Tale Told by an Idiot” has it all and then some. A whole new cast of puppets is joining creator and star Eric Woolfe to tell this spellbinding adaptation. I was wondering how they were going to get Macbeth into an eighty minute show, and yet it’s adapted perfectly, keeping in all of the speeches and characters we know and love while cutting a great deal of the extraneous material (including Donalbain, because let’s be real, we don’t know why he’s there in the first place).

Director Dylan Trowbridge helms the creative team along with Woolfe, and the two of them are a dynamic duo of entertainment. Melanie MaNeill’s design of this show is excellent; you can easily see the thought and planning that went into it. The tattered tartans which surround the playing space is a concrete reminder of the location of the play, while the baby dolls scattered about the tatters portend the weird sisters’ premonitions. I also really loved the coat worn by Macbeth throughout the show; the juxtaposition of the bright militaristic-style adornments on the navy jacket is a beautiful encapsulation of the story’s constant struggle between the real and surreal. The piece-de-resistance for me is the cauldron which acts as the main focal point and playing space. Not only does it provide ample room for Woolfe to do his puppetry and magic, but it acts as a reminder that we are under Woolfe’s spell while we are in the theatre.

The way that the magic tricks are woven into this play is exceptional. They’re able to highlight key moments and speeches with perfectly paired illusions. I’m still gobsmacked at how often Woolfe would be performing some of the most profound Shakespearean monologues all while maintaining complicated illusions. My favourite was during Lady Macbeth’s “out damned spot” speech; the whole audience was gasping with fear and anticipation throughout the monologue. I’ve been to several Eldritch shows at this point and yet still there are new and different magical illusions every time I walk through the door, always expertly catered to the story at hand, and I cannot applaud them enough for their ingenuity.

Along with performing mind-boggling magic, Eric Woolfe gives passionate and moving performances throughout MacBeth: “A Tale Told by an Idiot.” For each puppet there are new accents or mannerisms, which Woolfe deftly navigates while also playing The Thane himself. He seamlessly transitions from role to role within a breath of one another, all with Shakespeare’s beautiful text. Yet there’s always his classic ad-libs which bring so much laughter to the audience; the Porter’s speech is the ideal setting for these hilarious moments. I must admit, I’m a little jealous; normally with a multi-person cast (as Fleance notes) you maybe only get one or two of the great speeches of this play, yet Woolfe gets to do them all! Joking aside, Woolfe’s performance left me totally floored, and I’m really hoping to see more adaptations of Shakespeare’s works coming from Eldritch soon.

Make sure you check out MacBeth: “A Tale Told by an Idiot” before it closes on February 24th. You won’t want to miss this spine-chilling delight. For more information and tickets, visit: https://eldritchtheatre.ca/macbeth

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Cover Photo: Eric Woolfe in Macbeth: A Tale Told by an Idiot. Photo by Adrianna Prosser

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