Mercury Fur

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Stunning - Rated
Before I saw this show in its first run at London's Menier Chocolate Factory, I discovered that one of my friends had already been. I asked him what it was like. He said 'You'll leave feeling like someone has kicked the s*** out of you'. And that is the best description of this play that I can think of.

I bought a programme to discover that it contained the script, but it is only now, several years later, that I come back to it, read it again, and realise what an amazing piece of writing it is. It isn't particularly nice, nor fun, it's quite difficult to get your head around at times, but it is undeniably compelling. It is controversial, for its language and content (people will find it disturbing), but don't let that take away from the brilliant writing - the haunting speech from Naz about his sister in the supermarket will shock you but bring you in, and there are too many other moments like that to mention. Indeed, it is a play which has no characters but those you will find yourself engaged with, and all of them would be fantastic and fascinating to play.

When I watch a play, I want to be emotionally involved, and when I play a part I want one I can get into, identify with, and that will emotionally affect others. This play has all that and much, much more.

An important play - Rated
Well, here’s the bottom line. It’s considered somewhat controversial. It's not for the squeamish but it is happening now in the world and we let it happen in a different form in Rwanda.

There is a young audience, a young population that needs to hear this warning. The young population has been subjected to ever escalating and diverse forms of violence in their art, whether it be movies, books, or performance art and even TV is moving forward in that area. They need to be spoken to at their level of understanding and beyond. They need to be shocked so that one can get their attention in order to change their perspective. Some say this play may add to the negativity out there. I say if Hitler was about to take power and lead the world into a gruesome war, the likes of which couldn’t even be imagined, wouldn’t you want to warn the young of what they are buying into and how much is required to stop the horror before it gets even further out of control? As the next American election comes closer and closer, isn’t it time to take a more honest look at where we are headed?