Video transcript
Drama Company 2022 - Just Macbeth! - 06. Interview with Andy Griffiths

[intro music]

MARGARET: So, Andy, what character do you think you relate to the most from your series, apart from Andy, of course?

ANDY GRIFFITHS: Apart from Andy? I think it would be Professor Stupido.

MARGARET: [gasp] Oh.

ANDY GRIFFITHS: If you're talking the 'Treehouse' series.

MARGARET: Any series. Any series.

ANDY GRIFFITHS: Yeah, 'Treehouse' is where I spent the most time. Professor Stupido has the power to point at something and uninvent it on the spot if it annoys him.

MARGARET: Ooh.

ANDY GRIFFITHS: And that's the part of me that wants to like, 'Terry, you're annoying me, disappear forever.'

[laughter]

MARGARET: Oh, my goodness.

ANDY GRIFFITHS: So, the beauty of the books is I can experience that power and the irresponsibility of it and the danger of it, because he starts pointing at-- we bring him in to solve a problem, which is the writing and drawing machine has taken over the book. So, he comes in to uninvent it.

But then he starts seeing other things that annoy him as well, like the Trunkinator punches him in the nose. So, he uninvents that. And he uninvents the tree, because that's annoying him.

And then he uninvents the whole world and the whole universe until we're just floating in nothingness. So, that's the part of me that should be restrained. Yeah, he's fun.

MARGARET: OK, what was your biggest inspiration for writing and why?

ANDY GRIFFITHS: It was the fun and the magic I got when I was reading books when I was a kid, how I'd just get totally swept away, like I've just been in this production. I just forget all reality. And it's like, [gasp], 'What's going to happen now?' And that was from Enid Blyton. She was--

MARGARET: [gasp] Oh, I love Enid Blyton.

ANDY GRIFFITHS: She wrote my favourite books, 'cause she just got the kids into a dangerous situation in the first chapter. So, I wanted to recapture that feeling and give it to a new generation of kids.

MARGARET: Wow. What was your inspiration for the 'Just!' series and how did you turn such a malicious and serious play like Macbeth into a funny and child-friendly show?

ANDY GRIFFITHS: [laughs] It took a long time.

MARGARET: Mm, yeah.

ANDY GRIFFITHS: It took 3 or 4 years to write.

MARGARET: Oh, wow.

ANDY GRIFFITHS: And then we had a big development series with-- a week with all the actors of the original production and directors and lighting people. And we rewrote the play every night, 'cause the actors were clowning around. And so we'd write it in. So, instead of saying, 'Prince of Cumberland', someone would say 'Prince of Cummerbund'. And then we all-- 'Oh, that's funny.' And--

[laughter]

'--has delivered great largess to your offices.' And we'd say, 'Say orifices. That's funny.' Oh, I can't believe those jokes are still here. Now, you asked me what was the--

MARGARET: Inspiration for the 'Just!' series.

ANDY GRIFFITHS: --inspiration for 'Just!'? I failed at writing a story about a character who plays tricks on everyone. When I said, 'Oh, there's this character called Billy. And he's a really bad joker.' That didn't feel real.

But if I said, 'It's me, I'm Andy. I'm the greatest practical joker in the world.' That felt real, and I could make people believe it. So, that's how I tell stories to kids. I'll say, 'You know, so-- out on the street, we grew up without internet. Can you believe it?'

MARGARET: Wow.

ANDY GRIFFITHS: 'We had to make our own fun.' And I would just-- at the little kids, I would say, 'Oh, I had a terrible time in the bath last night. I was attacked by a shark.'

And they'd go, 'No, you weren't, you can't have a shark in the bathroom?' And I'd go, 'Well, what's this cut on my hand then?' And they'd go, 'Really?' And I'd say, 'Yeah, the shark bit me.'

And they'd say, 'What did you do?' And I'd say, 'I hit it on the head with the shampoo bottle. And then it ate the shampoo bottle, and it burped out the bubbles.' And they go, 'That's not true', and I said, 'Yes, it is. Be careful in the bath tonight.' So, yeah, that was a storytelling game. So,--

MARGARET: Oh, wow.

ANDY GRIFFITHS: --that's what all of my writing is. It's playing that game on a page. So, I'm acting on a page, yeah. I can't act in real life.

MARGARET: I'm sure you definitely can.

ANDY GRIFFITHS: Please don't ask me to.

[laughter]

MARGARET: What is it with Andy and garden gnomes?

ANDY GRIFFITHS: My sister many years ago used to have a concrete garden gnome. And it lost its head.

AUDIENCE: Oh.

MARGARET: A decapitated garden gnome?

ANDY GRIFFITHS: Yeah, but the head was still there. So, it just had this big gash across its-- and it had an evil little stare. It just sits in the garden.

And-- I was being shown around her garden one day. She said, 'See that gnome? I'm scared of that.' And I said, 'I can see why.' I said, 'Would you like me to take it for you?' She said, 'Yes, please. Get rid of it.' And so I took it. I've still got it.

MARGARET: Oh, wow.

ANDY GRIFFITHS: 'Cause I love things like that. And then it reminded me of an urban myth. Well, it's not a myth. You know where someone takes a gnome out of someone's garden, takes it to Queensland, photographs it on the beach, and says-- sends them, 'Having a lovely time in Queensland. I'll see you soon.' And then they send it to the poor person, and put it back.

So, they'd never know how their garden gnome made it to Queensland. So, I loved this idea. And I thought, 'Andy can do it to his neighbour.' But he's going to take the evil gnome and start imagining that it's trying to kill him.

And so he has to destroy the gnome. But every time he tries to destroy the gnome-- puts it in his-- he's staying with his grandparents-- puts it in their tree masher. What do you call those things? Yeah, you--

AUDIENCE: Mulcher.

ANDY GRIFFITHS: Mulcher, thank you. He puts it in a mulcher. And the bits of concrete fly out and almost kill him. So, he becomes convinced the gnome is trying to kill him.

And that was-- yeah, the director picked up on that when we were writing the play and said, 'Well, that's his greatest fear.' So, and that's-- Macduff is Macbeth's greatest fear. So, you combine them. And you get this lovely, bizarre image that's--

MARGARET: The Macduff gnome, yeah.

ANDY GRIFFITHS: Yeah, it all makes sense, kind of, yeah.

MARGARET: And final question, what did you think of the show? And what was your favourite part?

AUDIENCE: [gasp] Oh, my gosh.

[laughter]

ANDY GRIFFITHS: [laughing] Well, I loved the show. You've done it so amazingly. All the little bits are there. Yeah, it's overwhelming. And particularly, when Danny-- Danny, what's your real name?

BAILEY: Bailey

JANE SIMMONS: Bailey.

BAILEY: It's Bailey.

ANDY GRIFFITHS: (laughing) Bailey.

When Bailey looked, that brought me into the show. That was very confusing.

[laughter]

But I loved the levels of reality going there. I loved everything. The murder was really good. I don't usually say that but--

[laughter]

The different stages of Macbeth plunging the knife into him with the sound was particularly dramatic. And that was a tough bit to do in the books, because we knew a lot of young children would be reading it. And we're trying to keep things a bit light. We don't want to give everyone nightmares.

So, yeah, it was a tough thing. But you added a bit more nightmarish quality to it, which is great but, yeah. Macbeth, it just adds-- it just lends itself to comedy, because it's so dramatic. You can have the drama.

And then you just pull the rug out from under them and with a silly word or joke. And then we all laugh to relieve the tension. So, that's an answer to your earlier question.

But, yeah, I just loved it. Obviously, Andy is the greatest theatrical role in the history of theatre. And Macbeth is-- oh, yeah.

I love Andy's performance at any moment. But that doesn't mean the rest of you are not great either. So, thank you very much. Fantastic job to everyone. Well done.

JANE SIMMONS: And thank you, Andy.

MARGARET: Thank you so much. Thank you.

ANDY GRIFFITHS: Thank you.

[applause]