By Ernest Kearney — Last year, Mitchell Bisschop’s reworking of Madison Avenue icons into the Citizen Kane homage of I Can Hear You Now, demonstrated he was writer/performer of both talent and a sterling comic sensibility. This year’s Pit of Goblins reveals a far more twisted aspect to Bisschop. A writer/performer of talent, yes; just one you may not want to leave your children alone with.
Wayne (Bisschop) is a “visionary killer,” someone who like David Berkowitz (“Son of Sam”), Anthony Sowell, and the English artist Richard Dadd (The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke – which inspired the song by the band Queen), is driven to commit his murders by the dictate of “voices.”
In Wayne’s case, he is already a successful serial killer, who’s assured, by a malignity of goblins living in the depths of a pit, that his homicidal ways will go unnoticed by the police provided he supplies them (the goblins) with monthly kills.
Bisschop’s attempt here is ambitious in the extreme; an effort to hold up a fun house mirror to capture the deformed features of the society we presently live in, which is ruled over by the most deformed goblin of them all.
Bisschop’s Wayne, outside of his murderous pastime, is a hard-working “joe” who loves his family and chafes under the demands of the domineering goblins for indiscriminate slaughter.
“I kill with a purpose,” he insists, “Like the Grim Reaper or the government.”
Bisschop employs music videos (directed by Montana Bertoletti), a “killer montage” (edited by Greg Reitman), and animation (David Finch and Tom Borowski); and introduces the character of a befuddled local sheriff who dreams of success as a country western singer.
Unfortunately the videos, like the overall production, need trimming and more precision.
Black comedy is a demanding genre, as can be gauged in the success or failure of such works as The Loved One, Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feelin’ So Sad, Cold Turkey, The Bed Seating Room, Man Bites Dog, Shaun of the Dead and Lord Loves A Duck.
Pit of Goblins while unwieldy and unfocused is also assuredly ambitious and entertaining. And for that –
A SILVER MEDAL
Pit of Goblins
playing during The Fringe at
The Complex Hollywood (Ruby Theatre )
6476 Santa Monica Blvd
For Complete Show Information: http://hff19.org/5785
For Events, Plays and Other Fun Fringe News and Info: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/