“There are so many things that excite me about Mercutio. And they’re also the things that scare me about him,” admits Dan Mousseau. “But this is what I find so joyful about this work.”
With a grin in his voice and the history, legacy and challenge of Shakespeare on his mind, the Dora Award-winning Mousseau has stepped this summer into the shoes—and swagger—of one of the Bard’s most, well, mercurial characters. As Mercutio in Canadian Stage’s Romeo & Juliet, he is balancing bravado and vulnerability, and irreverence and rage – all under the stars in Toronto’s beloved Dream in High Park.
Set in a volatile Verona inspired by 1930s southern Europe —a society on the cusp of fascism— director Marie Farsi’s adaptation of Romeo and Juliet captures the urgency and heartbreak of young people trying to change a world shaped by inherited hatred. Mousseau credits Farsi and designer Sim Suzer with building a tactile, layered world that feels emotionally charged and eerily topical: “Sim Suzer and Marie have dreamt up such a stunning set, that is so much fun to play on, with many plants and different materials, and layers of a world of history that these people inhabit,” he explains. The fantastic choice of setting elevates “the tensions and reactivity of the people who live there”: the close-knit community is “infected so deeply that family members and neighbours are at each other’s throats.”
Since the Dream in High Park is presented without an intermission, adapting Shakespeare for a 105-minute runtime is no small feat—but Mousseau believes the team has handled this “beautiful and difficult” challenge with care. “It’s always such a treat to see how our directors cut down these plays while retaining their essential story – and how every other aspect of the production can help this effort.” He praises Farsi’s clear-eyed vision for this Romeo and Juliet, which highlights the shared heartbreak of a community unravelled by a “grudge … passed through so many generations that it’s been adopted by the younger generation without a grasp necessarily of why they’re fighting.” At the exact same time, the show is also a “very tragic, intimate story about hope…. The beauty of how much these people are hoping – and trying to make life better for themselves and their society – is so present here. As is the tragedy of what happens to those people.”
The socio-political tension of the setting informs every decision the characters make – an effect which “reflects the world we find ourselves in, with fascism rising around the world in significant ways, and closer than any of us would like,” notes Mousseau. “I think the best theatre is theatre that makes the audience leave reflecting on the world around them: what choices and biases they buy into without realizing it. And I think our production will do just that.”
In addition to Mousseau, this production of Romeo & Juliet features Praneet Akilla as Romeo and Lili Beaudoin as Juliet, as part of an ensemble that mixes Shakespeare veterans and newcomers Matthew G. Brown (a Singer and Friar John); Joella Crichton (Lady Capulet); Daniel Krmpotic (Paris); Ziska Louis (Tybalt); Diego Matamoros (a Singer and Friar Lawrence); Meilie Ng (Benvolio); Asher Rose (the Prince); Mike Shara (Lord Capulet); and Michaela Washburn (the Nurse). “You’d never guess there’s a range of experience because everyone is so dang talented,” enthuses Mousseau. And “this cast has bought into this world in such a brave, playful way. They have brought, and continue to bring, their whole hearts to these roles… We tease each other. We take swim breaks in the park on dinner. We pretend to stab each other on stage. We’ve become a beautiful, weird little family!”
The role of Mercutio, of course, includes the dazzling Queen Mab soliloquy, which is as immediately recognizable as Hamlet’s “To be or not to be…”, Macbeth’s “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow…” or Romeo’s “Soft, what light through yonder window breaks?” Does such an iconic soliloquy bring special pressure or self-consciousness? By way of answer, Mousseau provides a mini-lesson on craft: “When a character gives such a famous speech, the actor must know exactly what is being said and why this character is saying it,” Mousseau notes. The challenge is that the Queen Mab soliloquy is “so open to interpretation and expression”. So the magic lies in the way “the characters I play are also a way for me to meet myself wherever I’m at in my life”.
So of Mercutio, he wonders, “What’s the most important to him? Is it his status and enjoyment of life, his friends, partying? … Or is he avoiding something? Why does he pick a fight that his family doesn’t belong in? The questions are big, and I love them, but it’s also what’s daunting: there are so many choices.” So Mousseau approaches the legendary Queen Mab speech “slowly. Carefully. Like a wild animal. It’s a tough one! It is so full of incredible images, and obscure references and language…. He’s speaking to Romeo, his love-sick, vibe killing, best (one of two) friend.” For Mousseau, the speech reveals Mercutio’s contradictions: “The images he chooses are quite darkly superstitious and violent and mysterious and sexual …. In whatever world this is set, Mercutio isn’t someone who shies away from talking about the ‘taboo’ or stigmatized things in society. He seems to relish the unknown and the frightening aspects of our existence as humans. This says to me that he’s known pain. He’s known loss and love… For all he knows, this could be his last party, and having his friend come along for an unforgettable [night] is as important as anything.”
Asked whether he feels innately more like Mercutio or Romeo, Mousseau laughs. “Although I wish I could say Mercutio, the truth is Romeo.… Deep down, I feel the swaying ocean of my emotions tossing me from day to day. My therapist can tell you all about it.” He empathizes with how “Romeo is just such a sweetheart open soul. He wears his heart on his sleeve always, and feels thrown around by life and fate.” Watching his castmate Praneet Akilla in the role of Romeo has been “such a joy to watch and learn…it’s like watching my deepest, sweetest anxieties come to life. His portrayal is so spontaneous, genuine, personal and vulnerable. He and Lili Beaudoin, who plays Juliet, are so adorable and wonderful together.”
But while Mousseau knows who Romeo is (and even understudies the part), he is very much relishing Mercutio’s fiery complexity and the challenge to be “more confident and ‘devil-may-care’.” “Although”, he quips drily, “I do think he takes it a bit far when he starts a knife fight. Never a good call, in my opinion.” He then pauses. “I think that, as I’ve matured, I’ve moved away from that, actually. Maybe I’m halfway between the two characters.” A student of acting and of the self, he concludes, “I’m learning a lot from this question!”
As Mousseau navigates the on-stage emotional spectrum between Mercutio’s caustic charm and Romeo’s earnest swooning, he hopes High Park audiences will do the same from their blankets and seats on the amphitheatre’s grassy hillside. “The best theatre is theatre that makes the audience leave reflecting on the world around them: what choices and biases they buy into without realizing it,” he notes, “and I think our production will do just that.”
Romeo & Juliet is on stage in the High Park Amphitheatre until August 31, 2025. Tickets are available on canadianstage.com.
© Arpita Ghosal, Sesaya Arts Magazine 2025
