Cahoot
A Tale of Linguistic Transformation
In the enigmatic play Cahoot's Macbeth, Cahoot emerges as a writer shackled by censorship. Among the troupe performing Macbeth, he is singularly fluent in the cryptic Dogg language. When an inspector interjects into their dramatic world, Cahoot, who has hitherto embodied the role of Banquo, undergoes a striking metamorphosis, adopting the mannerisms and sounds of a canine. He delivers Shakespearean lines with fervor, only to be admonished by the inspector to communicate plainly.
The plot thickens with the arrival of Easy, who also speaks in Dogg. Amidst this linguistic chaos, it is Cahoot alone who holds the key to understanding, serving as the indispensable interpreter. Despite the play's dedication to the suppressed writer, Pavel Kohout, playwright Tom Stoppard clarifies that Cahoot is not a representation of Kohout himself.
Dogg
Dogg's Hamlet unfolds within the bustling halls of a school, where the enigmatic headmaster, Dogg, orchestrates the preparation for the upcoming school play, aptly titled Dogg's Hamlet. When Easy encounters Dogg for the first time, he greets him with a polite "good afternoon." Unbeknownst to Easy, this seemingly benign expression is a grave insult in the peculiar language of Dogg, named after the authoritative headmaster himself. As the narrative advances, Easy unwittingly incurs Dogg's ire on multiple occasions, thanks to Baker and Charlie's mischievous creation—a barricade of block letters that, while innocuous in English, form a litany of insults in Dogg's tongue.
Bewildered by this linguistic conundrum, Easy is taken aback each time Dogg hurls him into the offending wall, scattering the blocks and spurring the students to eagerly reconstruct fresh affronts. During the grand performance of Hamlet, Dogg takes center stage to deliver the prologue, setting the tone for the unfolding drama. The play Dogg's Hamlet is an homage to Ed Berman and Inter-Action Productions, a theatrical group celebrated for its renditions of Stoppard's works. Within its narrative, Berman finds a symbolic representation through the character of Dogg himself.
Characters
Abel
In the whimsical world of Dogg's Hamlet, Abel emerges as one of the trio of schoolboys tasked with orchestrating the grand production of Hamlet. Among the group, he is the unfortunate target of the most ridicule and mistreatment. Early in the play, the headmaster, Dogg, catches Abel indulging in a game of football when he should be working, and reprimands him harshly. The arrival of Easy, the bewildered lorry-driver, complicates matters further. Miscommunication ensues as Easy speaks in English, while Abel and his companions respond in their native tongue, Dogg. This leads to a series of misunderstandings, particularly when Abel hands Easy the wrong building supplies, prompting Easy to vent his exasperation on Abel. Within the Hamlet production, Abel, alongside Baker, steps into the role of a steadfast guard.
Baker
Baker, another inventive schoolboy in Dogg's Hamlet, shares the stage-setting duties and acts in the play. With Abel's assistance, he skillfully arranges the microphone for the performance. As language barriers arise with Easy, Baker attempts to bridge the gap by borrowing lines from their Shakespearean script, trying to converse in the elevated tones of the Bard's English. Together with Charlie, Baker constructs a wall from letter blocks, forming words in Dogg that inadvertently land Easy in a predicament. As the play unfolds, Baker joins Abel as a vigilant guard in the Hamlet production.
Charlie
Charlie, the third member of the schoolboy trio in Dogg’s Hamlet, contributes to the setup and performance of Hamlet . He collaborates with Baker to erect a wall of letter blocks on stage, spelling out phrases in Dogg that create an unintended stir for Easy. Transforming for...
(This entire section contains 860 words.)
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theHamlet performance, Charlie dons a dress over his shorts to portray Ophelia, adding a unique touch to the character.
Easy
The indefatigable lorry-driver, Easy, traverses both Dogg's Hamlet and Cahoot's Macbeth with his deliveries. In the former, he arrives at a school bustling with preparations for Hamlet, only to find himself lost in a maze of language. While he communicates in English, Dogg and his students engage him in the alien vernacular of Dogg, leading to a flurry of confusion. Tasked with constructing a stage platform, Easy's English instructions are misinterpreted as their Dogg equivalents, resulting in a chaotic assembly. Adding to the farce, the boys playfully rearrange the play's title blocks into harmless English words that are offensive in Dogg, unfairly pinning the blame on Easy. By the play's conclusion, Easy begins to grasp the nuances of Dogg.
In Cahoot's Macbeth, Easy finds himself at a private theater, only able to converse in Dogg, bewildered by the English-speaking performers. His arrival with stage materials coincides with an inspector's attempt to shut down their illicit production. As Dogg becomes the medium of communication, the inspector remains perplexed by the unfamiliar language. Meanwhile, Easy and some actors quietly construct stairs in the background as the play unfolds in this new tongue, until he finally answers a phone call that nudges him back towards English.
The Hostess
In the secretive setting of Cahoot's Macbeth, the hostess opens her home to the daring troupe staging a forbidden rendition of Macbeth. She ingeniously claims the audience, which includes Stoppard's own, to be her personal friends to elude arrest. Despite her clever ruse, the inspector cautions that her involvement in the performance breaches censorship laws. When Easy arrives, babbling in Dogg, she momentarily doubts his sanity before swiftly adopting the language herself, joining the ensemble in their covert performance.
The Inspector
In the shadowy confines of Cahoot's Macbeth, the inspector enters as a wary guardian of legality, scrutinizing the hostess's abode. Initially jovial, he recalls the actors' diverse day jobs—like tending newspaper kiosks—as the only permissible forms of artistic expression under his watch. Despite his warnings about censorship, he insists on witnessing their play, wielding the threat of prosecution if they refuse to perform. His visit, however, takes an unexpected turn as the actors defiantly continue their art under the clandestine guise of Dogg.
As the scene draws to a close, the inspector declares his distaste for Shakespeare, citing the playwright's elusive language. He and the police, he claims, favor a direct, unambiguous protest. He departs with a stern warning: cease the play, or face arrest. Undeterred by his exit, the actors promptly resume their performance. It is then that Easy arrives, conversing in the peculiar tongue of Dogg. The inspector soon returns to this scene of chaos, announcing that he is documenting every utterance to use as evidence in court. With the cast now fluent in Dogg, they continue the play, leaving the inspector powerless to detain them. Frustrated, he retaliates by using Easy's building materials to erect a barrier across the stage, effectively severing the actors from their audience as they bring their rendition of Macbeth to its conclusion.
Landovsky
In the play Cahoot's Macbeth, Landovsky portrays the intense character of Macbeth. This role is embodied by Pavel Landovsky, the real-life Czechoslovakian actor who was prohibited from publicly performing. The inspector, familiar with Landovsky's "performances" in the various odd jobs he was forced to adopt, is ironically an admirer of his versatile talents outside the realm of theatre.
