Whenever Tybalt has any part in the play it is connected in someway with fighting, he is either in a fight, or seeking one, either way he is always the one to start it. Act1 Scene5 is the ball scene, here we are shown evidence of how Tybalt cares only for himself. He uses the family feud as a cover and would go against the wishes of his Lord, for the chance to fight over nothing.
Tybalt is self-centred. I know this because he is willing to jeopardise the peace at the ball for an unimportant incident. He claims immunity by saying he is doing it for his kin, although his Lord expressly forbade it. They quarrel where Tybalt is still determined to disobey him, and risk Lord Capulet being humiliated in front of all his friends and family. Lord Capulet wishes there to be peace, and he asks for the feud to not be brought up here in his family home. In my opinion Tybalt sees himself as God, he believes that it is not a sin to take someone’s life in this case more that it is his duty. Tybalt is a law unto himself. This scene also reinforces what I have already said about Tybalt, that he overreacts, is extreme, and excessive. I know this because he flew into a rage at the mere thought of a Montague being at their party, he did not know who it was but ‘by his voice should be a Montague’. Immediately he sought to kill this trespasser, whoever he had to offend or disobey. Only by his uncle (Lord Capulet) threatening him will stop him as this is all Tybalt responds to (‘Be quiet or I’ll make you quiet’). Violence is his past present and future (evidently, he dies by it) therefore naturally it is all that can control him, words have no effect. I think Lord Capulet here should put a strong resisting arm on Tybalt to reinforce his sincerity. This is when Tybalt will agree to let alone but will be despondent, and he will pull away slightly almost with repulsion as Tybalt’s respect for Lord Capulet is not evident in this scene, and I want the audience to feel that Tybalt believes Lord Capulet is not strong enough to be head of the house anymore if he will stand for this intrusion. Tybalt is loyal only to himself and his sword. Even though Lord Capulet claims Romeo ‘to be a virtuous and well governed youth’ Tybalt still refers to him (repeatedly) as a villain, this tells me, as director, that he despises Romeo and he will keep his promise to ‘convert to the bitterest gall’. Tybalt will have his revenge, fight to the death if he must, therefore in this scene he must be passionate and incensed, his eyes would be wide and fiery and his speech would be animated, however he must show he is bubbling with excitement underneath, through quick, eager speech and with the smallest trace of a smile as he is happiest fighting.
Tybalt despises Mercutio as his best friend is Romeo, a Montague, he is kinsman to the prince. Mercutio’s mind is a land of fantasy and language, his life is an act as he loves to entertain. He is very intelligent and can manipulate others words anyway he pleases, and he is very caring, a loyal friend who loves to make people laugh, however he is stubborn and can be impatient, with anyone but Romeo.
I would chose an actor to be Mercutio that has light green eyes, so they always look alive and sparkling, and a cheeky smile that shows some of his teeth. He would wear a varied array of clothes that are bright and unusual to correlate with his wild nature and his rapidly changing moods. They would be loose fitting, and casual yet expensive, as he is a nobleman. His appearance in my opinion is not as important as Tybalt’s because his speech is what draws the audience’s attention, not intimidation, or fear, although he still has power. I say this based on first impressions from Act1 Scene4, where they are outside the Capulet’s mansion on the night of the party. Romeo is distraught from unrequited love and Mercutio and Benvolio are trying to cheer him.
‘Nay gentle Romeo,’ Mercutio teases him about his nature, tying to coax him out of his depression, but gentle is also a term of affection that he feels towards Romeo. Mercutio is always centre stage and never silent, I would make sure the actor is animated and enthusiastic as he talks with his whole body. Mercutio is concerned that Romeo is not having a good time so he tries to lift his spirits by telling him to ‘beat love down’. Mercutio is never direct he often ‘flirts’ around the subject, as we discover immediately, he is passionate about what he is saying and has to have the last word. For example, Romeo is determined not to dance or have fun but just to wallow in his own self-pity but Mercutio does not give up easily, he believes love is purely physical, and cannot endure love for loves sake. He appears in my opinion to have no patients for it as he says ‘ save-your-reverence love, wherein thou sickest’. Mercutio makes many situations easier by punning. An example of how he manipulates what others say would be, when Romeo says love ‘pricks like a thorn’ Mercutio replies ‘Prick love for pricking’. As director I would tell the actor taking on the role of Tybalt, to be in an energetic mood, more animated than usual (which must be a lot!), and most importantly to speak very quickly, for his words to flow eloquently, yet with barely a pause for breath he should metaphorically run circles around Romeo.
When Romeo mentions his dream Mercutio launches into a fanciful account of his, it is about Queen Mab coming to visit but he has his own twisted version of her, in which he becomes very passionate and disturbed. This is a perfect opportunity for Mercutio to show off his extensive vocabulary and overactive imagination, and he continues on for quite a long time. He begins by just trying to entertain Romeo with his idea’s on Queen Mab and he is descriptive yet light-hearted ‘she is the fairies mid-wife… her collars, of the moonshine’s watery beams’, here the actor should speak softly but still quickly with varying tones and speeds capturing the audience’s full attention. Then his mood swiftly changes, he becomes agitated and distressed, his speed and tone should increase rapidly building the tension, the atmosphere should change to correlate with his mood and he should move briskly weaving between them almost as if he seeks to find her, ‘Which oft the angry Mab with blisters plague…foul sluttish hairs…this is the hag’. Mercutio at this point is inconsolable, showing how quickly and violently his mood can change, this one speech casts a veil over everyone else on the stage as he is centre of attention. The lighting at this point should be low and shadowy, to create more suspense around this unpredictable, and unreliable character, there should be hardly any people around to induce a suspicion that people would go out of their way to avoid an unhinged character like this in the street.
Another good example of Mercutio’s teasing nature is in Act2 Scene1, here Mercutio tries various taunts to call Romeo out of hiding, (including vulgar ones). In my opinion he is so desperate to find Romeo because he is happiest when he is with him, and he cares very strongly for him. Mercutio seems panicked ‘Romeo! Humours! Madman! Passion! Lover!… quivering thigh’ yet still he uses his poetic language and assonance. Here as director I would ask the actor to use a gently jeering tone, pert but not overly disrespectful, so he doesn’t anger Romeo and lose their friendship. I would also ask the actor to do the same in Act2 Scene4 as when Romeo arrives Mercutio taunts him again, but this time more so. I think he does this as it is a way of covering his relief that Romeo is safe, but he admits he is annoyed that Romeo went off the night before (possibly jealous that he was not included). Based on this, I think that the actor taking on the role of Mercutio should first be a little disgruntled with Romeo, but then on discovering Romeo in high spirits he becomes contented and they engage in a battle of wit, where Mercutio concludes Romeo is himself again. Here the actor should move briskly around Romeo, encircling him and his eyes would be wide and excited to keep the audience captivated. In my opinion Mercutio does not like to meet with new people, he is cold with them and uses his words to embarrass them. I have based this on the end of the scene when the Nurse comes to give Romeo a message and Mercutio sets upon her, he insults her and is crude, ‘is now upon the prick of noon…farewell ancient lady, farewell’ here even Romeo has to excuse his friend ‘a gentleman that loves to here himself talk, and will speak more in a minute than will stand to in a month. As director I think it is essential for the actor of Mercutio to know the other side to his personality, the side we do not get to see in all its glory till this point, as normally he talks to his accomplices therefore he treats them with more respect. The actor must swoop round the Nurse laughing in her face, turning to look at the others to see their response, jeering at her, and making vulgar physical gestures at appropriate times. The lighting here should be harsh to reflect his mood and induce greater tension.
In Act3 Scene1 the two fiery characters meet. The consequence of this is dire for both of them as they are killed. Mercutio starts the scene in a stubborn, uncontrollable mood, Benvolio tries to calm him and Mercutio turns on him. Tybalt is out looking for trouble and they both know he has challenged Romeo for being at his party. Mercutio is now using cold wit as he is sick of the violence, and he is pushing Tybalt to fight him. When Romeo arrives Tybalt ignores Mercutio and orders Romeo to fight for ‘the injuries, thou hast caused me’. However, typically of Mercutio he does not give up, and insults Tybalt to invoke a fight. At this stage Mercutio is not his usual self, the actor should not smile but look deadly, and exasperated, his eyes should be dull and his face drawn. He, for once should be almost still as he has not got the energy to be enthusiastic. The actor taking on the role of Tybalt should here look confused, he did not seek a fight with this man, and he appears fearless (which is unusual for him) he should look excited prior to the fight, as he relishes violence. However, no-one else is aware that Romeo has secretly married Juliet, so he cannot fight Tybalt as he is his relative, when he declines the challenge, Mercutio thinks he is being week ‘O calm, dishonourable, vile, submission’ and continues to taunt Tybalt into a fight, ‘one of your nine lives’ then Romeo steps between them, at this point the actor taking on the role of Tybalt should widen his eyes and thrust forward with his sword under Romeo’s arm driving it into Mercutio, he would then smile menacingly and run followed by his friends, the lighting should move from harsh and bright, to cool and subdued as Mercutio is dying and I would want a sombre atmosphere. Even now that Mercutio is fatally hurt he still entertains, he talks around the subject confusing those around, into thinking he is not wounded. He lived by his language therefore naturally in his last moments he still speaks in verse and puns ‘left me a grave man’ (grave as in sombre and grave as in dead) ‘made worms meat of me’. Mercutio should exclaim passionately ‘A plague on both your houses’ and his face should be tensed to portray his sincerity, the word plague should be most prominent and lingered, his body limp, his clothes torn. As Mercutio is pronounced dead, Tybalt returns triumphantly, his eyes wide and sparkling, his posture tall and bold the lighting should now brighten again before the next clash, his sword should be smeared with Mercutio’s ‘blood’, to give the audience something to focus on, and to keep the memory of Mercutio’s death fresh in their minds. Tybalt should fight elegantly as usual, but Romeo is so infuriated, that Tybalt did not see what was coming. His clothes tear and his blood lay next to his body on the floor. The spotlight should linger on the two lifeless bodies before the lighting becomes subdued once more.
I conclude that, both characters are alike in many ways, they are both fearless, stubborn and cannot be controlled, they are unpredictable and deadly. They both perform for an audience however small, and have to be the centre of attention all the time. Whenever they are on stage they dominate the others. Although Mercutio did not physically fight every time he was on stage he still fought with words, whenever he was present he challenged someone to a ‘duel’ of wits, and insulted everyone. He is also eccentric like Tybalt, and is in love with language like Tybalt is with his sword. They are both the best at their ‘occupations’; Tybalt is a sword smith, and Mercutio a wordsmith. However, Tybalt is straight to the point, unlike the fanciful Mercutio, their clothes also reflect this, as Tybalt wears black ordinary clothes whereas, Mercutio has an array of bright coloured clothes that are as varied as his moods. He says what he thinks like Mercutio, and does not care who he offends. Tybalt dominates the scene with his aggression, and Mercutio with his words, they excite the audience who hang on to their every action. Tybalt overreacts in every scene, however, as Mercutio is with Romeo, we do not get to see the most aggressive side of him till the death scene (although he still attacks with language). The main difference between them is that Mercutio is loyal to Romeo whereas Tybalt is loyal to no one but himself. In the role of director it is crucial, that I understand each of their characters in depth to give the right instructions to encourage the audience to form a correct interpretation of them. The directions I would give them are very similar due to them both being aggressive and powerful characters.