By Nadine St-Jacques
The names Homer Simpson and Macbeth aren’t normally heard in the same sentence. But that didn’t stop Rick Miller from bringing these characters together in MacHomer, a satirical play premiering at the National Arts Centre on Feb. 5.
In his one-man play, Miller, a gifted imitator, uses 50 of The Simpsons’ characters to interpret Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
He says he chose The Simpsons because he found the characters not only pathetic and laughable, but noble at their core.
“The Simpsons sometimes makes you cry every now and then because these characters, out of nowhere, tug on your heart strings, and I think that’s what makes them fit into a Shakespeare tragedy.”
Miller first thought of the concept for MacHomer during a classical production of Macbeth in 1994 while poking fun at his cast mates.
“It was a cast party joke initially that turned into a little comedy sketch and now it’s much bigger than that. It’s still the same joke at the core — it’s still one dysfunctional family being cast as another,” he says.
But putting together this dysfunctional family was more work than Miller bargained for. He says he taped every episode of The Simpsons in 1995, made audio tapes of the cartoon and spent hours studying the voices.
“I lived in an apartment in Montreal, and walls were thin, and I was kind of embarrassed. I’d drive in my car and I’d park somewhere and I’d just sit there and try to figure out what the hell the actor was doing,” he says.
Although he’s perfected 48 of the voices in MacHomer, there are still two he struggles with.
“I still have trouble with Bart and Lisa but I get away with a few lines, then I kill them off,” says Miller.
He jokes the audience is forgiving because the roles are performed by women in real life.
“My goal is to just put on a good show and make people laugh.”
Despite the comedy, he stays true to the original Macbeth by keeping 85 per cent of the original script. Miller says this allows audiences to view the classical Macbeth in a different light.
“It takes away an unnecessary fear of the language and it makes the language much more accessible.”
And audiences are responding, says Miller, who has been touring around the world throughout the past eight years.
He says much of the play’s success derives from its ability to draw all sorts of crowds.
“It might appeal to a younger generation,” says Olivia Van Eyk, a grade 12 student at Lisgar Collegiate.
Her classmate, Samantha Bradley, agrees.
“Macbeth in general is so solemn, and it’s old English. (MacHomer) is kind of dumbing it down for normal society,” says Bradley.
“We’re not that inclined to see something that’s too hard for us, it’s bringing it down so that everybody can understand it.”
But that idea isn’t reassuring, says Ian Cameron, a Carleton University professor who teaches Shakespeare.
“I don’t derive any great comfort out of the fact that people need The Simpsons in order to be able to see and read Shakespeare,” he says.
“I think Shakespeare, out of all the classic writers, is the one that least needs any help.”
And although Miller’s approach to reinventing Macbeth may be original, Cameron says the concept of reinterpreting Shakespeare has been around for centuries.
“It’s not unusual to see people having all sorts of fun with Shakespeare,” says Cameron.
“Shakespeare would probably be amused by these different interpretations.”
Even though Cameron isn’t a big fan of The Simpsons, like many others, he says he’s curious to see how this humourous interpretation of Macbeth will play out.
“Maybe this will open the door to The Simpsons for me. Who knows?”
MacHomer runs at the National Arts Centre Feb.5-8. Tickets range from $27-$36. Students pay $14.50-$19.