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Mercury Fur
Mercury Fur imagery by Theatre Delicatessen
Written byPhilip Ridley
Characters6 male, 2 female (1 transgender female)
Date premiered10 February 2005
Place premieredDrum Theatre, Plymouth
Original languageEnglish
GenreIn-yer-face theatre,
post-apocalyptic fiction,
science fiction
Setting"A derelict flat in a derelict estate in the East End of London."

Mercury Fur is a play written by Philip Ridley which premiered in 2005. It is Ridley's fifth adult stage play and premiered at the Plymouth Theatre Royal, before moving to the Menier Chocolate Factory in London.

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.

The original production was directed by John Tiffany as part of the This Other England season of new writing by Paines Plough and Theatre Royal, Plymouth in England.[1] The part of Elliot was played by Ben Whishaw, who had achieved fame the previous year for, at the age of only 23, portraying Hamlet in Trevor Nunn's production at the Old Vic Theatre in London, for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actor.[2][3]

The play is particularly noted for being the subject of controversy: Ridley's publisher, Faber and Faber, refused to publish the script[4] and the original production received regular walkouts from audience members[5] along with a generally divided and sometimes hostile response from critics.[6] Over time, Mercury Fur has generally attracted a much more positive reception, with some critics even hailing the play as a "masterpiece".[7][8][9]

The play is the first entry in Ridley's unofficially titled "Brothers Trilogy", being followed by Leaves of Glass and Piranha Heights.[10][11][12]

Ridley dedicated the play to his agent Rod Hall,[13] who was murdered in May 2004, several months before the play's premiere.[14] According to Ridley, the dedication was not originally intended as a response to Hall's death as it had already been planned some time prior to when Hall was killed.[15]

Story

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 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.

Characters

Elliot - Aged 19, he is the main facilitator in preparing the parties as well as being the chief dealer in butterflies which he sells in an ice cream van. He however has only ever taken one, meaning he has retained all his memories from before the butterflies arrived. He hurls a great deal of verbal abuse at Darren but also shows genuine love for him.

Darren - Aged 16, he is Elliot's brother and assistant. He is addicted to the butterflies which have resulted in him having memory loss.

Naz - A young looking 15-year-old orphan who is a regular customer of Elliot's. He like many of the other characters has severe memory loss through butterfly addiction. He happens across the party by accident and wants to help the gang, much to the dismay of Elliot.

Party Piece - A ten-year-old Pakistani boy. He is the victim prepared for the Party Guest.

Lola - A 19-year-old transgender woman. Lola is skilled in designing costumes and make-up, which she makes for the parties.

Spinx - 21 years old, he is the leader of the gang and Lola's brother. He looks after the Duchess with whom it is suggested he has an intimate relationship with. The rest of the gang are mostly fearful of him.

Duchess - A frail and blind 38-year-old woman. She gets her name from having been led to think that she is a duchess of a country, which she believes due to not being able to see. She has also mixed up her life history with the character of Maria from The Sound of Music. It is heavily suggested that she may have a closer connection to Elliot and Darren than it appears.

Party Guest - 23 years old. The party revolves around his fantasy where he is a soldier in the Vietnam War who, for his own sexual gratification, tortures with a meat hook a child Pakistani version of Elvis Presley, singing Love Me Tender in a gold two-piece suit.

Response and legacy

Initial reception and controversy

The play became a theatrical cause célèbre when it premiered, with at least 10 walkouts reported each night of the show's original run,[5] and even Ridley's publishers of ten years, Faber and Faber, refusing to publish the text.[4]

Critical response was almost as fevered as the events on stage with Charles Spencer of The Daily Telegraph describing the play as "a poisonous piece" as well as declaring that everyone concerned with the production had been "degraded" and, more controversially, that Ridley was "turned on by his own sick fantasies."[16]

However, there was also critical support for the play, with John Peter[17] 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 insisting that the portrayed "social breakdown ... flies in the face of a mass of evidence one could produce to the contrary",[18] whilst Lyn Gardner[4] and Miranda Sawyer[19] joined the ranks of those siding with the lyricism of the piece.

In defending the production, director John Tiffany explained that although the play is full of "incredibly shocking images and stories, almost all the violence happens off stage. It is almost Greek in its ambition" and that the play is "the product of a diseased world, not a diseased mind".[4]

Responding to the critical backlash, Ridley described the critics as "blinder than a bagful of moles in a coal cellar", a comment partially made in reference to him witnessing the critic Charles Spencer fall over furniture onstage while trying to find his seat on the play's press night.[20]

In defending the play, Ridley expressed what he felt were double standards within the theatrical establishment, in that it is acceptable for there to be scenes of violence in classical drama but not within contemporary plays:

"Why is it that it is fine for the classic plays to discuss - even show - these things, but people are outraged when contemporary playwrights do it? If you go to see King Lear, you see a man having his eyes pulled out; in Medea, a woman slaughters her own children. The recent revival of Iphigenia at the National was acclaimed for its relevance. But when you try to write about the world around us, people get upset. If I'd wrapped Mercury Fur up as a recently rediscovered Greek tragedy it would be seen as an interesting moral debate like Iphigenia, but because it is set on an east-London housing estate it is seen as being too dangerous to talk about. What does that say about the world we live in? What does it say about theatre today?"[4]

Ridley also explained that he felt critics had disliked Mercury Fur because of its subject matter and not for the theatrical experience the play is trying to create for its audience:

“I don’t think there is anything wrong with people being disturbed within the theatre at all… I think theatre is fifteen years behind any other art form… It’s still perceived as a kind of subject matter based art form. You wouldn’t go along and look at a Suzanne painting and criticize it just on the choice of apples she’s chosen to paint, you’d criticize it, and you’d judge it and experience it for the use of paint… Because we come from a basic literal tradition we still view stage plays as kind of glorified novels and we judge them purely on their subject matter, regardless of the theatrical experience of sitting there and watching the play.”[20]

Ridley also defended the depiction of violence within the story, arguing that is used for a moral purpose and that the play is more about love than violence:

"The things that happen in Mercury Fur are not gratuitous, they are heart-breaking. The people may do terrible things but everything they do is out of love, in an attempt to keep each other safe. The play is me asking, 'What would I do in that position?' If you knew that to keep your mother, brother and lover safe, you would have to do terrible things, would you still do them? That's the dilemma of the play. It asks us all, 'What lengths would you go to to save the people you love?'"[4]

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.

2010 police incident

In 2010 police almost raided Theatre Delicatessen's production of the play (which was staged in a derelict office block) when a resident living next door believed the play's violent scenes were being carried out for real. Actors waiting offstage along with the company's producer intervened before the police would have stopped the performance.[21]

Behind the Eyes

In February 2011 the play was used by the Schema Arts Collective as the basis for a community arts project called Behind the Eyes, which took place at the Sassoon Gallery, London.[22]

The project featured an amateur production of Mercury Fur which was cut down to 40 minutes and used actors from the local area. The performance was particular in its use of sound design with edited audio recordings of the actors and gallery environment incorporated into the production.

The project also featured a thirty-minute documentary film Mercury Fur Unveiled about the cast and creative team's process of realising the project and their views on the play. The documentary was later broadcast on the Community Channel in 2013[23] and is free to watch online.

Behind the Eyes also displayed artwork inspired by the play with a large mural of a shark (which was also utilised as the production's scenic backdrop) and Ridley himself collaborated by exhibiting a series of photographic portraits he had created of the cast.

Critical reappraisal

In 2012 the play was arguably critically reassessed when revived by The Greenhouse Theatre Company, with the production receiving extremely positive reviews and even marketed as "Ridley’s Masterpiece",[7] a statement which was also made by critic Aleks Sierz[8] and A Younger Theatre reviewer Jack Orr.[9]

The play also drew attention for its relevance in the aftermath of the 2011 England Riots[24][25] with the production's online trailer using dialogue from the play over footage from the riots.[26]

New monologues

For the 2012 production, Ridley wrote four individual new monologues for the characters Elliot, Naz, Lola and Darren which were filmed and put on The Greenhouse Theatre Company's YouTube channel to promote the play transferring to the West End.[27][28]

Legacy and influence

On seeing the original production, dramaturg and theatre director Lisa Goldman described the play as "one of the greatest theatre experiences of my life" which led to her commissioning and directing Ridley's next two plays Leaves of Glass and Piranha Heights.[12]

Mark Ravenhill (a playwright who is generally recognised for his 1996 in-yer-face play Shopping and Fucking) named Mercury Fur as "the best play" he had seen in 2005.[29]

The playwright Lou Ramsden has described the play as a major influence on her work, stating that "nothing changed my theatrical outlook quite like [the] first production of Mercury Fur at the Menier Chocolate factory… It showed me that I could do more than just picture a stage – I could use the circumstances of the theatre as well. The fact that the audience were in an inescapable black box served to ramp up the tension of the play, to unbearable levels... My heart literally pounded. I was thrilled by the revelation that theatre could be more than just an exercise in language, or a nice, polite, passively watched story – it could elicit a physical reaction, giving people a horrifyingly visceral roller-coaster ride." Ramsden has cited how this experience of hers informed the writing of her 2010 play Breed[30] and her 2011 play Hundreds and Thousands.[31]

Ridley has described Mercury Fur as a turning point in his career as a playwright: "After Mercury Fur, the work reinvented itself. It was as if people saw [my plays] for the first time. A whole new generation of younger directors came along – and they all just got it. In the past, I had to go into rehearsals [of my plays] and explain what I was doing. Then it was as if somebody flicked a switch and suddenly that changed."[32][33]

Plays that critics believe have been influenced by or bear homage to Mercury Fur include:

Productions

Mercury Fur has been performed worldwide in countries such as Australia, France, Italy, Malta, Turkey, the Czech Republic, the United States and Japan.

Country Year Location People Details
England 2005 Drum Theatre, Plymouth.

Later transferred to the Menier Chocolate Factory, London.		 Company: Paines Plough.
Director: John Tiffany.
Cast: Ben Whishaw (Elliot), Robert Boulter (Darren), Shane Zaza (Naz), Neet Mohan (Party Piece), Harry Kent (Lola), Fraser Ayres (Spinx), Sophie Stanton (Duchess), Dominic Hall (Party Guest). In the London production Party Piece was played by Prem and Previ Gami.		 World Premiere
10 - 26 February 2005 in Plymouth.

London Premiere
2 - 27 March 2005 in London.[1]
Italy 2006
2007		 Teatro Belli, Rome. Company: Trilly Productions in collaboration with Diritto & Rovescio.
Translator: Italian translation by Fabiana Formica.
Director: Carlo Emilio Lerici.[36]
Cast: Michele Maganza (Elliot), Mauro Conte (Darren), Michele Degirolamo (Naz), Stefano Colelli (Party Piece), Davide Gagliardini (Lola), Andrea Redavid (Spinx), Nunzia Di Somma (Duchess), Fabrizio Bordignon (Party Guest).		 Opened in April 2006.[citation needed]
November 2006.[37]
15 - 26 May 2007[38]
USA (CA) 2007 Rude Guerilla Theater, Santa Ana. Company: Rude Guerrilla Theater Company.
Director: Dave Barton.
Cast: Scott Barber (Elliot), Justin Radford (Darren), Peter Hagen (Naz), Ethan Tryon-Vincent (Party Piece), Alexander Price (Lola), Elsa Martinez Phillips (Duchess), Ryan Harris (Spinx), Robert Dean Nunez (The Party Guest).		 US Premiere
2 - 27 March 2007.[39][40]
USA (IL) 2007 The Peter Jones Gallery, Chicago. Company: The Broken Compass.
Director: Greg Beam.
Cast included: James Errico (Elliot), Brian Kilborn (Darren), Casey Chapman (Lola), Katlyn Carlson (Duchess).[41]		 American Midwest Premiere
12 April – 19 May 2007.[42]
Australia 2007 Theatreworks, Melbourne.

Later transferred to SBW Stables Theatre, Sydney.		 Company: Little Death Productions.
Director: Ben Packer.
Cast: Luke Mullins (Elliot), Xavier Samuel (Darren), Aaron Orzech (Naz), Wazzadeeno Wharton-Thomas (Party Piece), Russ Pirie (Lola), Gareth Ellis (Spinx), Fiona Macys-Marzo (Duchess), Paul Ashcroft (Party Guest).[43]		 Australian Premiere
30 August – 16 September 2007 in Melbourne.[44]

27 September - 13 October 2007 in Sydney as part of Griffin Theatre Company's 2007 Stablemates season.[45]
Turkey 2008 Istanbul Company: DOT.
Translator: Cem Kurtuluş.
Director: Murat Daltaban.		 Opened on 18 October 2007
Malta 2008 MITP Theatre, Valletta. Company: Unifaun Theatre Productions.
Director: Chris Gatt.
Cast included: Irene Christ, Chris Galea, Mikhail Pisani, Edward Caruana Galizia, Barrie Stott, Jan Zammit, Toni Attard, Francis Nwobodo		 1–10 February 2008[46]
USA (CA) 2009 The Imagined Life Theater,[47] Los Angeles. Company: Needtheatre.[48]
Director: Dado.
Cast: Edward Tournier (Elliot), Andrew Perez (Darren), Jason Karasev (Naz), Ryan Hodge (Part Piece), Jeff Torres (Lola), Greg Beam (Spinx), Nina Sallinen (Duchess), Kelly Van Kirk (Party Guest).[49]		 LA Premiere
29 May - 28 June 2009.[50]

Ovation Awards Nominee:
  • Best Acting Ensemble[51]
England 2010 Picton Place, London.[52] Company: Theatre Delicatessen.
Director: Frances Loy.
Cast: Matt Granados (Elliot), Chris Urch (Darren), Mikey Barj (Naz), Suraj Rattu (Party Piece), Jack Sweeney (Party Piece), Isaac Jones (Lola), Debra Baker (Duchess), Ben Wigzell (Spinx), Tom Vickers (Party Guest).[53]		 The first major London revival
9 February - 13 March 2010.

Site-specific production staged in a disused office block.
USA (NY) 2010 The Tank, New York City. Director: Glynis Rigsby
Cast included: Santiago Aguirre, Clio Davies, Claudia De Latour, Vienna Hall, Roland Lane, Ben Mann, Emily Seale-Jones, Saffron Wayman.		 29 March 2010.
USA (MI) 2011 The Ringwald Theater, Michigan. Company: Who Wants Cake? Theatre.
Director: Joe Plambeck.
Cast: Jon Ager (Elliot), Nico Ager (Darren), Alex D. Hill (Naz), Scott Wilding (Party Piece), Vince Kelley (Lola), Patrick O'Connor Cronin (Spinx), Cassandra McCarthy (Duchess), David Legato (Party Guest).[54]		 Michigan Premiere[55]
2 – 25 April 2011.

2011 Wilde Award Winners:[56]
  • 'Best Production with LGBT Themes or Characters'.
  • Joe Plambeck for 'Best Design - Lights'.

2011 Rouge Gallery Award Winner:

  • 'Best Drama'.

2011 Wilde Award Nominees:[57]

  • Jon Ager for 'Best Performance, Actor - LGBT Themes or Characters'.
  • Cassandra McCarthy for 'Best Performance, Actress - LGBT Themes or Characters'.

2011 Rouge Gallery Award Nominees:

  • Dave Early for 'Best Choreography (Movement or Fight)'.
  • Alex D. Hill for 'Best Supporting Actor (Drama)'.[58]
USA (CO) 2012 Theatre'dArt, Colorado Springs Directed by Irene Hessner 24 February - 11 March 2012.[59]
England 2012 The Old Red Lion Theatre, London.[60]

Later transferred to the West End at Trafalgar Studios, London.[7]		 Company: Greenhouse Theatre Company.
Director: Ned Bennet.
Cast: Ciarán Owens (Elliot), Frank C. Keogh (Darren), Olly Alexander (Naz), Ronak Raj (Party Piece), James Fynan (Lola), Ben Dilloway (Spinx), Katie Scarfe (Duchess), Henry Lewis (Party Guest).[61]
For the production's run at Trafalgar Studios the role of Naz was played by Sam Swann[27]		 The Second Major London Revival
27 March - 14 April 2012.

Off West End Award Winner:

  • James Turner for 'Best Set Design'.[62]

Off West End Award Nominee (Shortlist):

  • 'Best Production'.[63]

West End Premiere
29 May - 23 June 2012[64]

USA (NY) 2012 Atlantic Stage 2 Theater, New York City Company: Blue Ass Monkey Theater Company and Atlantic Acting School
Director: Hannah Pascoe.
Cast included: Michael Cirelli, Lucy Freeman, John Anthony Gorman, Luka Mijatovic, Dan Mulkerin, Arturo Prato, Estefanía Quijada and Bake Williams.[65]		 Performed 14 and 15 December 2012.
Canada 2014 Unit 102 Theatre, Toronto Seven Siblings Theatre Company. Canadian Premiere Produced in August 2014
USA (NY) 2014 Under St. Marks Theater, New York City Savage Detectives Theatre Company and Just a Gentleman Productions. Directed by Guillermo Logar; Cast includes Peter John Wallace, John Anthony Gorman, Rafael Albarran, Franco Pedicini, Enrique Huili, Nic Westwood, Valentina Corbella and Joseph Huffman. Stage Manager: Charles Furst. Opened 13 November 2014
Japan 2015 Theatre Tram in Tokyo, Hyogo Performing Arts Center in Hyogo and Canal City theater in Fukuoka Directed by Akira Shirai. Starring Issei Takahashi as Elliot and Koji Seto as Darren. Produced as Japan Tour in February–March, 2015
USA (Philadelphia) 2015 BrainSpunk Theater, Philadelphia Philadelphia Premiere, Directed by Josh Hitchens. Starring Joshua McLucas as Elliot and Samuel Fineman as Darren. Produced July - August 2015
USA (NY) 2015 The New Group, New York City[66] Off-Broadway Premiere, Directed by Scott Elliott starring Jack DiFalco as "Darren," Tony Revolori as "Naz," and Zane Pais as "Elliot", Paul Iacono as Lola Opened 5 August 2015
England 2015 Middle Child, Hull Directed by Paul Smith; Cast included Joshua Mayes Cooper, Laurie Jamieson, Edward Cole, Nima Taleghani, Laurence North, Madeleine MacMahon, James Stanyer and Charlie Thompson. 10th Anniversary production.
14–24 October 2015 in a site-specific production at Lowgate Centre, Hull. Supported by the Hull UK City of Culture 2017.[67]
England 2018 Milton Court Studio Theatre, London Barbican Directed by John Haidar; Cast included Mirren Mack and Joseph Potter. Designed by Frankie Bradshaw, Lighting design by Liam Strong and sound design by Dan Barnicott. Performed by the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
Australia 2019 Kings Cross Theatre - KXT Producers: Jens Radda, Daniel Ball, Kim Hardwick, Martin Kinnane

Director: Kim Hardwick

Associate Director: Danielle Maas

Assistant Director: Jens Radda


Cast: Danny Ball (Elliot), Meg Clarke (Naz), Jack Walton (Darren), Michael McStay (Spinx), Janet Anderson (Lola), Romy Bartz (Duchess), Joshua McElroy (Party Guest) , Lucia May (Party Piece)

24 May - 8 June 2019

Presented by Hasemann, Ball & Radda and White Box Theatre in Association with bAKEHOUSE Theatre

See also

Further reading

  • Attinger, Christian (2017). Aragay, Mireia; Middeke, Martin (eds.). "Staging Hobbes, or: Theseus Goes to the Theatre. Precariousness, Cultural Memory and Dystopia in Philip Ridley's Mercury Fur". Of Precariousness: Vulnerabilities, Responsibilities, Communities in 21st-Century British Drama and Theatre. Contemporary Drama in English Studies. 28. Boston: De Gruyter: 47–62. doi:10.1515/9783110548716-004. ISBN 9783110548716.
  • Harpin, Anna (2011). "Intolerable Acts". Performance Research. 16 (1): 102–111. doi:10.1080/13528165.2011.561681.
  • Rebellato, Dan (17 October 2011). "Chapter 22: Philip Ridley by Dan Rebellato". In Middeke, Martin; Paul Schnierer, Peter; Sierz, Aleks (eds.). The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary British Playwrights. London, Great Britain: Methuen Drama. pp. 438–440. ISBN 9781408122785.

References

  1. ^ a b "Webpage of This Other England Season on the Paines Plough website". Archived from the original on 7 February 2005. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  2. ^ "My Hamlet fears". Evening Standard. 29 April 2004. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  3. ^ "OLIVIER WINNERS 2005". OfficialLondonTheatre.com. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Gardner, Lyn (9 February 2005). "The Devil Inside". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  5. ^ a b Mercury Fur webpage on Paines Plough's website
  6. ^ Herbert, Ian, ed. (29 March 2005). "Mercury Fur". Theatre Record. Vol. XXV, no. 5. England: Ian Herbert. pp. 279–282. ISSN 0962-1792.
  7. ^ a b c Webpage of the 2012 Mercury Fur revival on ATG Tickets
  8. ^ a b Ned, Bennet (11 April 2012). "Director Ned Bennett Revives Philip Ridley's Masterpiece". TheatreVoice (Interview: Audio). Interviewed by Aleks Sierz. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  9. ^ a b Orr, Jack. "Review: Mercury Fur". A Younger Theatre. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  10. ^ Fisher, Philip. "Piranha Heights". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  11. ^ Coveney, Michael (30 May 2008). "Piranha Heights". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  12. ^ a b Goldman, Lisa (August 2012). The No Rules Handbook for Writers (know the rules so you can break them). Great Britain: Oberon Books Ltd. p. 185. ISBN 9781849431118.
  13. ^ Ridley, Philip (2009). Ridley Plays: 2: Vincent River; Mercury Fur; Leaves of Glass; Piranha Heights. Great Britain: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama. p. 73. ISBN 9781408111161. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  14. ^ Lott, Tim (13 April 2008). "A true life murder story". The Observer. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  15. ^ Shuttleworth, Ian. "Prompt Corner 06/2005". Theatre Record. Theatre Record Limited. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  16. ^ Spencer, Charles (5 March 2005). "A vicious kick in the guts". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  17. ^ Sunday Times Review Archived 16 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine[full citation needed]
  18. ^ Billington, Michael (3 March 2005). "Mercury Fur". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  19. ^ Sawyer, Miranda (6 March 2005). "Time to smell those roses, boys". The Observer. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  20. ^ a b Ridley, Philip (4 March 2005). "Controversial Playwright Philip Ridley Defends His Work". TheatreVoice (Interview: Audio). Interviewed by Rachel Halliburton. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  21. ^ Sierz, Aleks. "Police called to Philip Ridley play". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  22. ^ Behind The Eyes event on the Art Licks Website
  23. ^ Behind the Eyes listing on The Community Channel schedule[permanent dead link]
  24. ^ Smith, Patrick (4 June 2012). "Mercury Fur, Trafalgar Studios, review". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  25. ^ Samuels, Joel (27 March 2012). "Philip Ridley's Mercury Fur is More Relevant Now Than Ever". HuffPost UK. Oath Inc. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  26. ^ Trailer of the 2012 London revival of Mercury Fur
  27. ^ a b "Brief Encounter with ... Mercury Fur director Ned Bennett". WhatsOnStage. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  28. ^ Greenhouse Theatre Company's YouTube webpage, featuring all four monologues and the production trailer
  29. ^ Heawood, Sophie (22 December 2005). "The best and worst of 2005". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  30. ^ Ramsden, Lou (2013). Hern, Nick (ed.). My First Play: An Anthology of Theatrical Beginnings. Great Britain: Nick Hern Books Limited. p. 130.
  31. ^ Tripiney, Natasha (23 June 2011). "Lou Ramsden". Exeunt Magazine. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  32. ^ Sierz, Aleks (16 March 2015). "Philip Ridley: 'If this is as good as it gets, I might as well slit my wrists'". The Stage. The Stage Media Company Limited. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  33. ^ Foulger, Laura. "Karagula: An interview with playwright Philip Ridley". The Upcoming. FL Media Ltd. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  34. ^ Rebellato, Dan (17 October 2011). "Chapter 22: Philip Ridley by Dan Rebellato". In Middeke, Martin; Paul Schnierer, Peter; Sierz, Aleks (eds.). The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary British Playwrights. London, Great Britain: Methuen Drama. p. 426. ISBN 9781408122785.
  35. ^ a b c Sierz, Aleks (21 October 2015). Introduction. The Pitchfork Disney. By Ridley, Philip. Modern Classics (Reissue ed.). Great Britain: Methuen Drama. pp. 19–20. ISBN 978-1-4725-1400-4.
  36. ^ Coluccio, Luigi (26 November 2007). "Intervista a Carlo Emilio Lerici" [Interview with Carlo Emilio Lerici] (in Italian). Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  37. ^ Melandri, Fabio (2 November 2006). "Mercury Fur" [Mercury Fur] (in Italian). Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  38. ^ De Matteo, Giovanni (22 May 2007). "Mercury Fur: la fantascienza a teatro" [Mercury Fur: science fiction at the theatre] (in Italian). Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  39. ^ Rude Guerilla's Mercury Fur webpage
  40. ^ Marchese, Eric (7 March 2007). "LA Theatre Review: Mercury Fur". Backstage.com. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  41. ^ Metz, Nina (20 April 2007). "Debauched 'Fur' tells twisted story". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  42. ^ "Broken Compass's production of Mercury Fur listed on the Peter Jones Gallery website". Archived from the original on 27 April 2007. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  43. ^ Mercury Fur webpage on Little Death Productions website
  44. ^ Macmillan, Lola (3 September 2007). "Melbourne Reviews: Mercury Fur". Australian Stage. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  45. ^ Mercury Fur webpage on The Griffin Theatre website
  46. ^ Mercury Fur webpage on the Unifaun Theatre website
  47. ^ The Imagined Life Theater listing[permanent dead link]
  48. ^ Need Theater production Archived 15 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  49. ^ Verini, Bob (16 June 2009). "Mercury Fur: Show drags us into a circle of hell while affirming the indomitability of humanity's best instincts". Variety. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  50. ^ News webpage on Dado's website, director of Needtheater's production of Mercury Fur
  51. ^ "Ovation Nominee Profile: Jason Karasev". LA Stage Alliance. @ This Stage Magazine. 16 November 2009. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  52. ^ Theatre Delicatessen's Mercury Fur webpage Archived 21 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  53. ^ "Theatre Delicatessen's Mercury Fur cast webpage". Archived from the original on 23 February 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  54. ^ Past Productions 2010-11 Webpage on the Ringwald Theatre Website
  55. ^ "Who Wants Cake? Presents Mercury Fur". Broadway World Detroit. 10 March 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  56. ^ "Wilde Awards celebrates decade of wild adventures". Pride Source. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  57. ^ "Nominations: The 2011 Wilde Awards". Encore Michigan. Archived from the original on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  58. ^ Rogue Gallery Awards 2011 on the Rogue Critic Website
  59. ^ "Mercury Fur listed as part of Season 5 on the THEATREdART website". Archived from the original on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  60. ^ Mercury Fur on The Old Red Lion theatre website Archived 20 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  61. ^ Ridley, Philip (2012). Mercury Fur (2012 reprint ed.). Bloomsbury Methuen Drama.
  62. ^ Off West End 2013 Theatre Award Photos Webpage on the Off West End Awards Website
  63. ^ "THE 2012 FINALISTS NOMINATED FOR THE OFFIE AWARDS on the OffWestEnd website". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  64. ^ Mercury Fur at the Trafalgar Studios on the Love Theatre Website
  65. ^ Webpage of actor Blake Williams on the 2012 production of Mercury Fur at Atlantic Stage
  66. ^ Mercury Fur webpage on The New Group's website
  67. ^ Mercury Fur webpage on Middle Child's website
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