A sombre reflection on fate
After its success at the Edinburgh Fringe last year, Derek Mitchell brings his dark comedy, Goblin, to Soho Theatre. As heartbreaking as it is funny, this one-man show is a powerful story about trauma, isolation and the fleeting innocence of youth, writes Jake Millicheap.
Playing Eliot, a 15-year-old emo kid, Mitchell welcomes the audience as they take their seats, exuding teenage awkwardness while Panic! at the Disco songs play in the background. Addressing the audience as his imaginary friend Goblin, Eliot takes us through his life as a high school student in Decatur, Illinois, starting at his only friendship, to his strained relationship with his parents, to being bullied by the school’s popular kids. He is in many ways a typical teenage boy, incredibly self-conscious and desperate for validation from his peers, with hooking up with his crushes the main thing on his mind.
Through his depiction of a teenager in 2007, Mitchell is able to make use of hilarious period details, with references to early memes, ‘rawrs’ and ‘awkward turtles’ included. Talking to Goblin, he banters back and forth with audience members brilliantly, confessing undying love for his imaginary friend. Behind his goofy jokes, however, it becomes clear that Eliot is grieving, and that Goblin is a trauma response to his brother dying three years before. His parents have since retreated into themselves, disappearing into the worlds of conspiracy theories and extreme dieting, leaving Eliot isolated and vulnerable.
Exploiting his deep desire to be loved, a 30-something British TV star grooms Eliot after seeing him at a local meet and greet event. This sets in motion a series of turns which result in Eliot running away to become the co-owner of a spin studio in Florida, his youthful naivety fading with every bad decision he makes.
Delivering the show as a monologue, Mitchell is highly engaging throughout, a testament to his ability to create such a well thought-out and brilliantly realised character. Acting out scenes with Eliot’s high school bully, his parents, and mother-in-law, he switches between characters and accents effortlessly whilst keeping the focus on Eliot’s own transformation. Razor-sharp in his exchanges with the audience, we’re made to feel like Eliot’s best friend, making his descent painstakingly difficult to watch.
In contrast to the first half, with its main focus introducing Eliot and setting the scene, the second half of the show accelerates at breakneck speed. This change of pace serves as a reminder of the temporality of youth – before we know it, Eliot is in his mid-twenties, living in Brighton with his partner and on the run from the FBI.
The show’s final moments see Eliot asking for a ‘time capsule’, wishing he could go back to his 15-year-old self to start again. The reality is that he can’t go back, and things would likely have always turned out this way, a sombre reflection on fate and the weight of past choices.
@derekscottmitchell
