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by Kim Selody, directed by Pablo Felices-Luna

Stratford Festival, Avon Theatre, Stratford

May 30–October 22, 2026

Old Took: “There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something”

The Stratford Festival has not been particularly lucky in its choice of children’s plays. Some like The Diary of Anne Frank of 2015 are much too grim to be for young children. Some like A Wrinkle in Time of 2023 are just boring. And some like Wendy & Peter Pan of 2024 destroy whatever fun there was in the source material. The current production of The Hobbit (1999) by Kim Selody falls into the boring category, except, unlike A Wrinkle in Time, the design is impressive, and it is possible that director Pablo Felices-Luna provides enough of interest to look at on stage that children won’t mind if the story is a slog.

Selody has condensed J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1937 novel The Hobbit, which creates the world he later developed in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, to its episodic plot. Set in Middle-earth the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins joins the wizard Gandalf and a company of 13 Dwarves to save the Dwarves’ home from the dragon Smaug and to capture the treasure he guards that rightfully belongs to the dwarves’ leader Thorin Oakenshield. Gandalf has chosen Bilbo so that the company will not be made up of the unlucky number 13 and because he thinks Bilbo has skills that will prove useful on their quest.

On their way to the Lonely Mountain, the Dwarves’ ancient home, the company encounters Trolls, Elves, Goblins, the strange creature Gollum, Eagles, giant Spiders and finally the humans who live in Lake-town which has been terrorized by Smaug. In the tunnels of the Goblins, Bilbo finds the magical One Ring which causes the wearer to become invisible. A dispute between Thorin and the Lake-men leads to the cataclysmic Battle of the Five Armies involving Goblins, Lake-men, Elves and Dwarves. The original story has Wargs, a type of wolf, as the fifth army, but Selody has substituted the Eagles for them.

From this short summary it should be clear that the story has so much plot that there is little time for anything like character development except for Bilbo who changes from a small person beset by meekness and fear to one displaying self-confidence and courage. Selody has omitted various characters like the Giants and Beorn, a shapeshifter, and smoothed over some of the disputes among the various beings. We meet Gollum but don’t learn why he desires the One Ring so much or why he, who was once a Hobbit, looks so frightful. We know that Thorin wants something called the Arkenstone but never learn why exactly. Selody switches our interest to this Arkenstone but neglects to tell us what happens to the One Ring, which as everyone knows, is much more important. The lead-up to the Battle of the Five Armies and the Battle itself, with one actor playing each army, is so confused that virtually no one will know why the Five Armies are fighting, who wins and what the consequences are.

The problem in trying to shape an episodic story like this into a play is that it lacks drama. Threats arise, but as soon as Thorin’s band encounters one danger, they defeat it and move on to the next. Selody emphasizes tension between Thorin and Bilbo since Thorin repeats ad nauseam that a Hobbit is not fit for their quest, but this leads nowhere. Even after Bilbo saves the dwarves more than once, Thorin still complains about Bilbo’s presence.

While the story is not engaging, the staging by director Pablo Felices-Luna is visually stunning. Lorenzo Savoini has bracketed the playing area with a series three pairs of arc-shaped towers. When separated they suggest the outline of a circle. When touching they form the shape of a vertical eye. There are LED light rods on the edges of each arc that lighting designer Michael Walton can cause to change in colour and pulse depending on the nature of the location and level of excitement. Not only do these proscenium-high towers open and close but slotted in between them are slanted walkways that can separate to represent cliffs or clefts in rock.

The costumes of Ting-Huan 挺歡 Christine Urquhart are hugely imaginative. There are the over human-sized figures of the boulder-like Trolls, who are controlled from inside like gigantic puppets. The Goblins wear colourful fake full-body muscle suits and helmets. Gollum looks much like the character in the films only pinkish rather than grey. Elrond wears elegant robes. But Urquhart’s pièce de resistance is her brilliant conception of Smaug, manipulated by three performers – one for each wing and one for the head with its glowing eyes.

The show has a cast of nine, with seven of the actors playing from three to seven different characters. Bilbo is the only one who is not doubled. With so many characters and so much plot, performers can only hope to make some small impression. Richard Lee makes a delightful Bilbo Baggins. Lee emphasizes Bilbo’s innocence and fearfulness so strongly at the beginning, we don’t know how he will ever become the hero of the story. Yet, with each of Bilbo’s unexpected successes, Lee shows how Bilbo sheds some of his meekness to acquire in increasing measure some feeling that he is not only useful to Thorin’s band but even necessary for their success.

While the novel has no named narrator, Selody has had the great idea of proving one for his play. He has chosen Old Took from the novel and changed him from Bilbo’s grandfather to his grandmother. Sara-Jeanne Hosie makes this figure a welcome presence. Not only does she sing with her smooth, gentle voice, but she, more than any one factor, generates anticipation and excitement for the events that unfold. We look forward to Old Took’s every appearance to help us sort out who is who and what is happening.

The figure that most people will recognize even if they have not read the books or seen the movies is Gandalf. Tim Campbell has the right costume, designed by Urquhart and the right height and gestures, but, strangely , his voice is much lighter than one would expect from such and aged and powerful character. In voicing the dragon Smaug, however, Campbell is just as frightening as one would want.

Other than Richard Lee, Aaron Krohn is the only other cast member to play only one character. For Krohn, it is the dwarf leader, Thorin Oakenshield, whom he well portrays as proud, blustering and impatient. For most of the play he seems to do nothing but call Bilbo a “burglar” or to long for the Arkenstone. Only when Thorin is dying does Krohn have a chance to soften his character’s voice and show that Thorin has a more thoughtful side .

The remaining five actors play a huge range of characters. Of Michael Man’s six characters it is Gollum that most stands out. In Urquhart’s costume Man looks appropriately decrepit and his movements reflect his appearance. As Gollum, Man does a fine impression of Andy Serkis in Peter Jackson’s Tolkien films. Man insightfully depicts Gollum as so obsessed with the One Ring, that Gollum’s mind is barely unclouded enough to play the riddle-game with Bilbo.

Jennifer Villaverde has seven roles by makes the greatest impression as the Great Goblin, whose screeching voice and wild gestures make you hope the dwarves eliminate him as soon as possible. Ijeoma Emesowum has only four roles, three of them dwarves, but is able to make the dwarf Bombur stand out among the thirteen dwarves for her willingness to think for himself. As audience members we are glad that at least one of the dwarves is able to see the good that Bilbo does and to question Thorin’s attitude.

One difficulty with children’s plays at festivals otherwise geared toward adults is that adults seldom seem to heed the age advisory for these plays. For The Hobbit the recommended age is 9+, yet for the opening matinee of the play several parents had brought children younger than toddlers to see the show. For them the plot is far too complicated and the characters too numerous. There are plays geared to children under nine years, even for those under one-year. Parents should seek out shows suitable for their child’s age.

Given that the Selody’s adaptation of The Hobbit is hard enough for adults to follow and dull enough that they will feel little impetus to do so, adults should decide exactly why they are attending. If it is only to see well-known characters from books and films live on stage, then they may be satisfied. If it is to see an involving drama that excites the imagination, then they will not.

Christopher Hoile

Photos: Tim Campbell as Gandalf, Richard Lee as Bilbo Baggins, Aaron Krohn as Thorin Oakenshield, and Jennifer Villaverde, Heidi Damayo, Derek Kwan and Ijeoma Emesowum as Dwarves; Sara-Jeanne Hosie as Old Took; Sara-Jeanne Hosie as Old Took, Tim Campbell as Smaug and Richard Lee as Bilbo Baggins; Richard Lee as Bilbo Baggins and Michael Man as Gollum. © 2026 David Hou.

For tickets visit: www.stratfordfestival.ca.