Mercury Fur
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Mercury Fur is the fifth adult stage play by Philip Ridley and his most controverisial to date. It was premiered at the Plymouth Royal Theatre, transferring to the Menier Chocolate Factory in London, in 2005.
The play was a Paines Plough production and directed by John Tiffany. The part of Elliot was played by Ben Whishaw (who had shot to fame the year before as the youngest ever Hamlet in Trevor Nunn's production at the Young Vic Theatre, London).
The play, an apocalyptic drama which centers around the planned sacrifice of a child, became a huge cause celebre when it premiered, with even Philip Ridley's publishers of ten years, Faber and Faber, refusing to publish the text. It was reported that at least ten audience members a night left every show, unable to take the atmosphere of threat and violence portrayed on stage.[citation needed]
Critical response was almost as fevered as the events on stage with Charles Spencer of The Daily Telegraph declaring everyone concerned with the production had been 'degraded' and, more controversially, that Ridley was 'turned on by his own sick fantasies.' But there was a lot of support for the play too, with The Sunday Times' John Peter urging people to see it and calling it 'the definite 9/11 play'.
Despite of 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 been taken up around the world with productions in, or planned for, Prague, America, Australia, Germany, Japan and Paris.
The U.S. Premiere of Mercury Fur was produced by Rude Guerrilla Theatre Company in Santa Ana, California. It opened in March, 2007, under the direction of David Barton. They will soon be followed by The Broken Compass, whose Chicago production of Mercury Fur will play in April and May, 2007, under the direction of Greg Beam.
