MERCUTIA

Enter Mercutia, left the stage, pursued by jokes: The Comedy of The Spectre

Mercutia is an actively unnatural subversion of all that warps in the realms between reality & Gendernautica. This moustachioed they-triarch will agitate the construct of gender until all that’s left is a baseless, unrecognisable social chutney with a faint aroma of Gentleman’s Relish. And the queers will cheer their cheeriest of queery cheers.

Mercutia explores the effects of created tension derived from highly personal experiences & known truths, both with and without the created release that forms the new joke format of modern comedy. The spectres of personal truth will be manifested through many comedy parameters to determine if a joke is told without an audience, does a comedian still feel the necessary emotional release having created tension, elicited “laughter” upon relieving that tension with a punchline, and creating the response themselves? Could comedy become a one-person catharsis? How do we release the “ghost” and “problematise” identity, harnessing its infinite potential for change, by queering our existing understanding of comedic structures?

As a spectral satire machination, Mercutia is designed to upset & disturb all that we think we know about identity & structure, and their place in society & performance. What spaces will be created by a monster who has no interest in impact, or legacy, or applause?