Oh, Mercutio. How I love thee. He only appears in 4 scenes in Romeo and Juliet<\/i>, but if you’ve ever seen a production with a really good Mercutio then you know he always steals the whole show. He’s a crowd-pleaser. In his own way, he is a far better part than Romeo. I often wonder what would have happened to Mercutio if he had lived (spoiler for those of you silly enough to not have read this play). I often imagine what would have happened to him when he (as would be inevitable) eventually fell in love. What would that do to him? His defenses, his opinions? It would be so interesting. There are multiple ways to play Mercutio. You could go the gay way. That works. I’ve seen it done that way, and it makes absolute sense. His misogyny, seen in another light, could be a scorn for the female (not that that’s “gay” – but in Mercutio’s world it would be). And jealousy of Juliet, because of his love for Romeo. This interpretation stands up under examination and is not too off the mark, although it is not the only way to play it. Male friendship is powerful, and you can see the exclusionary aspect of it in Judd Apatow’s juggernaut, where women are seen as boring intrusions on the fun that men have. Mercutio can also fit into that. Whichever way you play him, he’s such a fun character. I have been to productions where we all walked away talking ONLY about Mercutio. <\/p>\n
These plays are not meant to be museum pieces, stuffy and untouched. They need to live in the modern world, and Mercutio is such a modern-feeling character. An instantly recognizable “type”: full of energy and rage and competition, sexual urges thwarted because he’s only a teenager, really, and can’t find an appropriate outlet yet. Great character. <\/p>\n
Which is why I am linking to this fantastic analysis<\/a> of Mercutio, which I read at the speed of light, voracious and excited. It is part of a larger project, and I am looking forward to going back and reading more.<\/p>\n And I’ll be re-reading Romeo and Juliet<\/i> as soon as I possibly can.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Oh, Mercutio. How I love thee. He only appears in 4 scenes in Romeo and Juliet, but if you’ve ever seen a production with a really good Mercutio then you know he always steals the whole show. He’s a crowd-pleaser. … Continue reading