Mandi Riggi’s play Mercy, produced by Writers and Anglers, comes to the Clapham Fringe at the Bread & Roses Theatre on 27 September in the form of a rehearsed reading.
My thanks to Kevin Corner for facilitating this piece.
So what can we expect?
MR: Mercy is a dark comedy with a spiritual twist, centering on a headstrong matriarch of a Persian family and her unyielding decision to break tradition. The story unfolds in non-linear fashion and is told through the prism of an end-of-life decision, bringing into question the very nature of the soul.
How did the story begin?
MR: The journey of my story begins as a murder mystery and then takes comedic, unpredictable turns, eventually blooming into a redeeming love story. Through biting humour and tender moments Mercy explores an emotionally complex portrait of a man and woman facing mortality and their tumultous state of a crumbling marriage.
What is the USP of Mercy?
MR: I aspire to connect audiences to a universal need surrounding questions about mortality on both a personal and political level. What is unique about Mercy is although it centres on a British-Iranian family, it is universal in its transformative language as it delves into matters of life and death – what troubles us all as humans on a global level.
Who are the cast and creatives?
MR: It was very crucial to cast as authentically as possible. We (myself and director Nicky Allpress) held a week of auditions and were blessed to find Mandana Jones, a British-Iranian actress well known for her role as prisoner Nikki in the TV series Bad Girls. She takes the leading role of the family matriarch. Peyvand Sadeghian joins us as the daughter, Yasmine, and Adam Sina plays the son, Danny. The very talented Andy Lucas, who has a Greek background, plays the conservative and traditional husband.
Mercy plays at the Clapham Fringe on 27 and 28 September. You can buy tickets for £8 at https://www.claphamfringe.com/mercy.html and the reading runs for 1 hr 50 minutes.
For more information on Writers and Anglers visit their website which lists all their social media links.