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What would you do if, at the heart of an international tragedy, you saw the opportunity to make a choice that would not only change your life seemingly for the better, but also wipe your slate clean, giving you the chance to start afresh? Would you take such an opportunity, even if it meant that your old life was effectively dead? Or would you succumb to your conscience and return to the real world… or at least answer your persistently ringing mobile? Would your choice change if the international tragedy was September 11?
Such is the premise of Neil LaBute’s incredibly powerful and provocative The Mercy Seat, sure to set minds and morals ticking in overtime when it graces Downstairs at the Maj for a brief September engagement. And yes, this engagement includes shows on both September 11 and 12, the former the day no-one can forget and the latter the day on which this play has been set. In the wake of a new world, one embroiled in a war with terror, Ben finds himself in the apartment of his lover and boss Abby. The day before he was meant to be at his office in the Twin Towers, but he wasn’t – he was in bed with Abby. Now he’s faced with a choice: pretend he died in 911 and run away with his lover or answer his phone and return to his wife and kids.
‘I think the interesting thing to note is that this is not a play about 911,’ said Paul Barry, who plays Ben in The Mercy Seat, ‘but rather is about a relationship that is directly affected by the events that occurred on September 11. It’s important to remember that for this couple September 11 happens and creates a major change in their relationship. It’s about how the event changes peoples’ lives in a personal way, not in a universal way.’
The Mercy Seat is unlike any other 911 play. While most performances deal with the tragedy of the event, this one examines how the two main characters look for the selfish gain in a tragedy. ‘Personally, I think it’s appalling,’ added Barry. ‘But at the same time I can see why people get themselves into or find themselves in situations where they don’t think there is any way out. I can see why people grasp at desperate solutions.
‘But what my character is trying to do is not make a decision but rather present it to his partner and ask them to just think about the possibility. In order to work through it they have to find the perfect solution for them to benefit from. But when you’re presented with a big moral dilemma, when it comes down to it, the answer isn’t easy and that’s why it’s so great to have plays written about moral dilemmas because you can then sustain that dilemma over a period of time.’
Which is also the beauty of LaBute’s writing – presenting people with moral situations which are neither clear cut nor easy to distinguish, particularly when it involves what Barry describes as ‘the dirty parts in each of us as human beings’. So are the characters in LaBute’s The Mercy Seat desperate people?
‘Yes, absolutely,’ confirmed Barry. ‘You could look at it that most people in society are actually desperate, just whether they admit or not. These two characters get to the point where they admit that they have to make a decision, that they can go one way or the other and that is it. That’s a desperate situation to be in.
‘Morally and in your life, when you get yourself into a tricky situation like this, I do believe that when you make your amends and are genuinely sorry for what you have done then yes, everyone has a right to wipe the slate clean. But only if you show that you deserve it, not because you decide that that would be handy. But in the end, I think these characters have their tests… and I think they get what they deserve.’
The Mercy Seat by Neil LaBute stars Paul Barry and Rebecca Davis and takes place Downstairs at the Maj from September 2 to 13. Tickets are available now from www.bocsticketing.com.au.
Thanks to Downstair at the Maj, OUTinPerth has a double pass to giveaway to Neil LaBute’s The Mercy Seat. Want to win it? Then go to our giveaway section to register and win!
