Mercury Fur

Mercury Fur imagery by Theatre Delicatessen

Mercury Fur is a play written by Philip Ridley which premiered in 2005. Set against the backdrop of a dystopian London, the narrative focuses on a party at which the torture and murder of a child is the main entertainment. It is Ridley's fifth adult stage play. It premiered at the Plymouth Theatre Royal, moving to the Menier Chocolate Factory in London, in 2005.^[1]

It was directed by John Tiffany as part of a season of new writing by Paines Plough and Theatre Royal, Plymouth in England.^[2] The part of Elliot was played by Ben Whishaw, who had become famous the previous year as the youngest modern Hamlet in Trevor Nunn's production at the Old Vic Theatre in London.^[3]

Synopsis

Mercury Fur is set in a post-apocalyptic version of London's East End, where gang violence and drugs - in the form of hallucinogenic butterflies - terrorize the community. The protagonists are a gang of youths surviving by their wits. They deal in the butterflies, selling them to their addicted customers from locations such as the now burnt-out British Museum. Their main source of income, however, is holding parties for wealthy clients in which their wildest, most amoral fantasies are brought to life.

The play, during nearly two uninterrupted hours, centres on a party which revolves around the sadistic murder of a child, enacted according to the whims of a guest. The gang ultimately has to face the question of how far they are willing to go to save the people they love.

Critical response

The play became a huge cause célèbre when it premiered, with even Ridley's publishers of ten years, Faber and Faber, refusing to publish the text.

Critical response was almost as fevered as the events on stage with Charles Spencer of The Daily Telegraph^[4] declaring everyone concerned with the production had been 'degraded' and, more controversially, that Ridley was 'turned on by his own sick fantasies.'

However, there was also critical support for the play, with John Peter^[5] drama critic of The Sunday Times, urging people to see it: 'It is a play you need to see for its diagnosis of a terror-stricken and belligerent civilization. I recommend it strongly to the strong in heart.'

Accordingly, the play set critics at odds with each other, with Guardian front liner Michael Billington (critic) insisting that the portrayed 'social breakdown ... flies in the face of a mass of evidence one could produce to the contrary', whilst Lyn Gardner^[6] and Miranda Sawyer^[7] joined the ranks of those siding with the lyricism of the piece.

Despite this controversy – or perhaps because of it – the play sold out on its initial run and, by the end, was playing to an enthusiastic young audience. It has since created a cult following of its own, with theatre makers keen to retell its story and audiences curious to see the story being told.

Productions

Mercury Fur has been performed worldwide in countries such as Australia, Germany, Japan, France, Italy, Malta, Turkey, the Czech Republic and the United States. It is currently being performed at the Under St. Marks Theater in New York City.

References