The Philip Ridley-fest continues with a revival of
Mercury Fur at the Old Red Lion. The country is in chaos, the young people caught up in world of riots, looting and indiscriminate violence. While the poor underclass turn on themselves, bankers seem to remain a wealthy elite, untouched by the anarchy and holding a certain amount of control over it through their money. The pre-publicity for this show quite gleefully dug up the original reviews from the play's 2005 debut, dismissing it as far-fetched; and compared them to news images from last August. This being Ridley though there's a fantastical touch to his apocalyptic dystopia: Some time in the past, a freak storm rained sand and brought with it numerous new species of butterfly. When eaten, the butterflies have a narcotic effect, creating hyper-realistic hallucinations, usually of a violent nature. Addicted to their effect, people start to seek it out in reality as well.
