A performance of the current London revival of Philip Ridley’s play Mercury Fur was almost stopped by a police raid.
Police were ready to storm the stage last night following a 999 call made by a distressed resident living next door to Theatre Delicatessen’s latest pop-up theatre space, who believed that the production’s violent scenes in a disused office block were being played out for real.
Only the quick thinking of actors waiting off stage, and the intervention of Theatre Delicatessen’s producer, prevented the police bringing the performance to an abrupt end.
Featuring child-killings, horrific stories of murder and mutilation, and a torture scene involving a meat hook, the play is not for the faint-hearted.
Director Frances Loy commented, “The play explores how far people will go for the ones they love, and all the violence in the play is taken from events that happen all over the world. Combined with the claustrophobic setting, where the audience is literally part of the action, I’m not surprised audiences are reacting so emotionally. It’s a play that asks some very difficult questions about human nature.”
More information from Theatre Delicatessen's producer Jessica Brewster: jessica@theatredelicatessen.co.uk
Read The Arts Desk review
Police were ready to storm the stage last night following a 999 call made by a distressed resident living next door to Theatre Delicatessen’s latest pop-up theatre space, who believed that the production’s violent scenes in a disused office block were being played out for real.
Only the quick thinking of actors waiting off stage, and the intervention of Theatre Delicatessen’s producer, prevented the police bringing the performance to an abrupt end.
Featuring child-killings, horrific stories of murder and mutilation, and a torture scene involving a meat hook, the play is not for the faint-hearted.
Director Frances Loy commented, “The play explores how far people will go for the ones they love, and all the violence in the play is taken from events that happen all over the world. Combined with the claustrophobic setting, where the audience is literally part of the action, I’m not surprised audiences are reacting so emotionally. It’s a play that asks some very difficult questions about human nature.”
More information from Theatre Delicatessen's producer Jessica Brewster: jessica@theatredelicatessen.co.uk
Read The Arts Desk review