The Mercy Seat is a 2002 play by Neil LaBute that was among the first major theatrical responses to the September 11, 2001 attacks. Set on September 12, it concerns Ben, a man who worked at the World Trade Center but was away from the office during the attack, with his mistress, Abby, who is also his boss. Expecting that his family believes that he was killed in the towers' collapse, Ben contemplates using the tragedy to run away and start a new life with his lover.
Though urban legends of a similar adulterous situation circulated at the time, LaBute has said he was actually inspired to write the play when, after the events of September 11, his flight from Chicago to New York City was cancelled and he had to take a 21-hour train ride. LaBute explained to The New York Times that he thought, "This is inconvenient....[and] I remember thinking, 'Ooh, that's not a very good thought to have.' I knew it wasn't right, but the thought had already come out."[1]
It was both a commercial and critical success (it sold out for the length of its run).[4]
The play, which "requires almost a nonstop output of high-octane emotion,"[1] was an emotionally draining experience for Weaver and Schreiber. Weaver (who had already appeared in the 9/11-themed play The Guys) admitted that "It takes its toll....It's hard to be that rough to each other, it's hard to be those characters, and it's hard to be that rough to the world situation....But I must say, as well as shocking, [the play] was funny. And necessary."[1] Schreiber, who stepped in to play Ben after frequent LaBute collaborator Aaron Eckhart proved unavailable, was deeply affected by his character's flaws, saying, "Doing this part, I feel, well, shadier. Not that I'm doing anything shady. It's like trying to shake off an itch that's not really there."[4]
The Mercy Seat was performed in Lima, Perú during June 2008, in a Spanish translation entitled Misericordia, starring Mónica Sánchez and Gonzalo Molina.
Rio de Janeiroedit
The Mercy Seat was produced, in Portuguese translation by Gustavo Klein as Marco Zero, in a production directed by Ivan Sugahara, and with Letícia Isnard and Tárik Puggina enacting the roles, at the Caixa Cultural Theatre in November and December 2015.
Critical responseedit
The TheatreMania reviewer wrote: "...this 100-minute, intermissionless piece may not be the author's most soul-searing, it's the one in which the characters seem the most human.[6]
Referencesedit
^ abcSalamon, Julie (2002-12-15). "THEATER; A Response to 9/11 So Unheroically Human". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
^ abFinn, Robin (2003-01-08). "A Role That's Hard to Shake Off: The 9/11 Antihero". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
^Bird, Alan. The Mercy Seat londontheatre.co.uk, 1 November 2003
^Finkle, David. "Reviews. The Mercy Seat " theatermania.com, December 18, 2002
October 27, 2023
mercy, seat, play, mercy, seat, 2002, play, neil, labute, that, among, first, major, theatrical, responses, september, 2001, attacks, september, concerns, worked, world, trade, center, away, from, office, during, attack, with, mistress, abby, also, boss, expec. The Mercy Seat is a 2002 play by Neil LaBute that was among the first major theatrical responses to the September 11 2001 attacks Set on September 12 it concerns Ben a man who worked at the World Trade Center but was away from the office during the attack with his mistress Abby who is also his boss Expecting that his family believes that he was killed in the towers collapse Ben contemplates using the tragedy to run away and start a new life with his lover Original theatrical poster for The Mercy Seat Contents 1 Inspiration 2 Productions 2 1 New York 2 2 London 2 3 Lima 2 4 Rio de Janeiro 3 Critical response 4 ReferencesInspiration editThough urban legends of a similar adulterous situation circulated at the time LaBute has said he was actually inspired to write the play when after the events of September 11 his flight from Chicago to New York City was cancelled and he had to take a 21 hour train ride LaBute explained to The New York Times that he thought This is inconvenient and I remember thinking Ooh that s not a very good thought to have I knew it wasn t right but the thought had already come out 1 Productions editNew York edit The Mercy Seat premiered Off Broadway at the Acorn Theatre in an MCC Theater production on December 18 2002 and closed on January 15 2003 Directed by LaBute the cast starred Liev Schreiber and Sigourney Weaver 2 3 It was both a commercial and critical success it sold out for the length of its run 4 The play which requires almost a nonstop output of high octane emotion 1 was an emotionally draining experience for Weaver and Schreiber Weaver who had already appeared in the 9 11 themed play The Guys admitted that It takes its toll It s hard to be that rough to each other it s hard to be those characters and it s hard to be that rough to the world situation But I must say as well as shocking the play was funny And necessary 1 Schreiber who stepped in to play Ben after frequent LaBute collaborator Aaron Eckhart proved unavailable was deeply affected by his character s flaws saying Doing this part I feel well shadier Not that I m doing anything shady It s like trying to shake off an itch that s not really there 4 London edit The Mercy Seat was produced at the Almeida Theatre in November 2003 directed by Michael Attenborough with Sinead Cusack and John Hannah 5 Lima edit The Mercy Seat was performed in Lima Peru during June 2008 in a Spanish translation entitled Misericordia starring Monica Sanchez and Gonzalo Molina Rio de Janeiro edit The Mercy Seat was produced in Portuguese translation by Gustavo Klein as Marco Zero in a production directed by Ivan Sugahara and with Leticia Isnard and Tarik Puggina enacting the roles at the Caixa Cultural Theatre in November and December 2015 Critical response editThe TheatreMania reviewer wrote this 100 minute intermissionless piece may not be the author s most soul searing it s the one in which the characters seem the most human 6 References edit a b c Salamon Julie 2002 12 15 THEATER A Response to 9 11 So Unheroically Human The New York Times Retrieved 2008 04 08 The Mercy Seat lortel org accessed May 10 2015 Hernandez Ernio Neil LaBute s Mercy Seat Opens Off Broadway Dec 18 playbill com December 18 2002 a b Finn Robin 2003 01 08 A Role That s Hard to Shake Off The 9 11 Antihero The New York Times Retrieved 2008 03 22 Bird Alan The Mercy Seat londontheatre co uk 1 November 2003 Finkle David Reviews The Mercy Seat theatermania com December 18 2002 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Mercy Seat play amp oldid 993329498, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
