by Diana Miranda
The fringe theatre within the UK takes satisfaction in being a haven for brand spanking new writing, providing platforms equivalent to R&D workshops, scratch nights and fringe festivals. While the mannequin has its quirks and shortcomings, it stays an area for showcasing and tweaking new work. However, artists navigate a product-oriented panorama that places strain to ship new work.
Creators hope to bang out their subsequent nice concept in a jiffy, whereas theatregoers take without any consideration the shiny factor in entrance of them. This atmosphere can obscure the complicated, iterative course of required to develop a bit, however the reality is that whipping one thing into form just isn’t a linear course of and sometimes requires do-overs with restricted assets.
Take this play, a tragicomic two-hander exploring a mind-boggling one-night stand. Set in a cluttered flat with a sofa surrounded by garbage and a espresso desk topped with cocaine, the play delves into the million-dollar query: what are {couples} prepared to do to maintain the hearth alive?
Watching Mercurial looks like navigating a home of mirrors. I’ve been out and in of the artistic course of and skilled the play’s evolution from totally different angles (typically actually. Its first scratch night time was on the spherical). It could be inaccurate to say that I’ve been within the thick of all issues Mercurial, but it surely feels apt to speak about my private expertise as a familiarised if not all-encompassing peek into its journey.
My first encounter with the play was in Autumn 2023, forward of a work-in-progress displaying as a part of Slainte Theatre’s scratch night time on the Irish Cultural Institute. The script, then a 20-minute piece, is reshaped by dissecting its characters throughout rehearsals. No spoilers: actor Elliot Eason’s interpretation of the tough-looking introvert he portrays takes the narrative away from sexual fantasies, and colors it as a revenge thriller. A mid-section monologue by a 3rd character is launched, offering a flashback that deepens the suspense. This monologue, initially written by Cox as a one-woman piece earlier than Mercurial even existed, turns into an experiment to see if it might be additional embedded within the piece. It didn’t.
In January 2024, Mercurial is introduced by Wooden Arrow Productions at LAMDA’s Sainsbury Theatre. Changes happen for purely technical causes: additionally a scratch night time, the occasion incorporates a collection of 10-minute items, so the solid solely performs the primary half. They have a deeper understanding of the characters this time round, and Sophie McMahon’s course focuses on the duo’s interactions, enhancing the connection between actors and maintaining the strain in direction of a cliffhanger ending. Observation video games and listening workouts abound within the rehearsal house.
This summer season, Riverside Studios’ Bitesize Festival has showcased Mercurial’s newest iteration and its leap to a 50-minute size. The artistic crew has modified, however the solid stays. A spotlight group gives suggestions after a gown rehearsal led by director Beth Drury. The focus just isn’t on the playtext now however on its staging. After watching the piece, nevertheless, I can’t assist however recognise bits from the early script sprinkled all through, in addition to the squirm-inducing plot twists so typical of Cox’s performs. The present retains the attractive comedy, however the thriller has taken a very new course. I determine acquainted shapes and varieties, however they appear enlarged, crooked, shrunken. A home of mirrors.
Now greater than ever, Mercurial has its viewers slip-sliding alongside the characters’ psyches. This jogs my memory of the sinuous early-stage course of by which Cox seeks storyline avenues by way of the enter of colleagues within the rehearsal house, dramaturgs throughout desk work, and audiences after scratch nights. Following a course of as serpentine as its narrative, Mercurial has taken the leap from the scratch night time world and nonetheless has gas to transcend its run at Riverside.
A play textual content morphing and swirling from showcase to showcase – Mercurial has had a bumpy experience, sure? NO. That’s simply new writing. The endeavour is long-term and tangled, which is one thing we in all probability don’t discuss sufficient. The journey and its rising pains are rapidly thrown beneath the rug. New performs take effort and time. Finding the best stopping level in a script is usually exhausting. Not to say the self-doubt whirlwind. And what playwright hasn’t skilled vertigo as their textual content is pulled in direction of many instructions or, equally daunting, locked in when its presentation is nigh?
It is essential to acknowledge {that a} efficiency is merely a snapshot of any mission. Without a help system that normalises long-term artistic processes, endurance and curiosity shall be among the many first issues that artists sacrifice whereas revisiting a draft for the umpteenth time. An ongoing exploration that rises above a product-oriented tradition may assist construct a extra clear and supportive ecosystem.
Mercurial gained Best Show on the Bitesize Festival Awards whereas this text was within the works. We absolutely haven’t heard the top of Cox’s play, and, similar to the present, this write-up may show to be yet one more mere snapshot in its ongoing evolution.
Mercurial runs on the 26 and 28 September at Riverside Studios.
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