Gobbo is a goblin who doesn’t like adventures. He doesn’t like to change his socks and he certainly doesn’t like the thought of being tied to a tree surrounded by soldiers ready to stick him to the end of their bayonets.  What he really, really likes is staying at home, eating rhubarb and farting.  A lot.  When his cheery adventure loving friend Globachan show’s up early one morning with a canoe he’d just purchased from his friend Leaky Tam, all hell breaks loose as Globachan tries to entice him into a test drive.  Adamant that he likes to stay at home and eat rhubarb, Gobbo’s determination not to die in a boating accident finally fails him on the promise of a very large bowl of rhubarb on their return.  Little do they know that what starts out as a cheery excursion will soon turn into the adventure of their lifetimes as they come face to face with the Spirit Eagle, (expertly played by a large silk parachute) are imprisoned in a labour camp where they have to dig trenches with spoons, and where they, assisted by Globachan’s heroic daughter Pixie Pumpkin come face to face with the evil Watchmaker, a 21st Century Childcatcher with a giant cage full of children and a robotic baby on order from the Rock Goblin Queen.

All this may seem a little scary or overwhelming for the intended audience, but the young participants in the audience were captivated by brilliantly controlled performances from all members of the company, meticulous variation in pace and clever staging. The whole production enamours the audience as the sets morph from a village fete where the audience are seated at tables into an in the round experience where tables become the futuristic caves of the Watchmaker and children from the audience are separated from their friends and family by a large net curtain.  Even with these interactive elements though, younger children found it difficult to stay focussed towards the end of the show which also suffers from the curse of devised theatre, losing the moments of brilliance demonstrated in the earlier, more fully developed sections of the show.

Touring:

North Edinburgh Arts Centre
09/09/2006 - 09/09/2006

Platform at the Bridge, Glasgow
02/09/2006 - 05/09/2006

Ballachulish Village Hall
13/09/2006 - 13/09/2006

MacPhail Centre, Ullapool
16/09/2006 - 16/09/2006

Sabhal Mor Ostaig
20/09/2006 - 20/09/2006

Victoria Hall, Cromarty
23/09/2006 - 23/09/2006

Craigmonie Centre, Drumnadrochit
30/09/2006 - 30/09/2006

Bettridge Centre, Newtonhill
04/10/2006 - 07/10/2006

New Deer Public Hall
07/10/2006 - 07/10/2006

Tullynessle & Forbes Village Hall, Alford
11/10/2006 - 11/10/2006

The Fisherman's Hall, Buckie
14/10/2006 - 14/10/2006

Kirkcowan Village Hall, Galloway
18/10/2006 - 18/10/2006

Middlebie Village Hall, Dumfriesshire
21/10/2006 - 21/10/2006

Sanquhar Town Hall
25/10/2006 - 25/10/2006