We always knew that the really interesting characters in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet were Mercutio and Tybalt. But now Valour and Tea have put it into a play as part of the Calgary Fringe Festival. And it’s outstanding.
Mercutio & Tybalt has Val Duncan and Celene Harder explaining from purgatory, how things actually happened, other than the story that we already know. Hate, love, hate love and then they die. So Mercutio is here to set the story straight. (In his own words)
This play mashes together iambic pentameter with modern language and shakespearean language. It is a quick and clever performance that allows you to spend more time with the real stars of Shakespeare’s tragedy, not those dumb kids. Tybalt and Mercutio were actually friends and didn’t let petty rivalries get in the way. Or that’s at least how Mercutio tells it. It’s humour and sword fights and a friendship that is quite interesting. It’s fun jabs at the original script and it’s an imagining of what Mercutio would be like in purgatory (Referring to Tybalt as T-Bone) What more could you want?
Mercutio & Tybalt is part of the Calgary Fringe Festival. There are 4 more chances to catch it. More information is available online.