I went into Oh, Mary! at the Trafalgar Theatre knowing almost nothing about Mary Todd Lincoln beyond the fact that she was married to an assassinated American president. I left the theatre scarcely better informed because this is anything but a conventional biographical play. Instead, Oh, Mary! is a gloriously high-camp reinvention of Mary Todd Lincoln’s story, delivered as an anarchic comedy. It declares its intentions within minutes as historical truth is joyfully sacrificed for laughs, good taste is shamelessly abandoned and subtlety is firmly left at the stage door.
Written by Cole Escola, the play reimagines Mary Todd Lincoln’s life in the weeks leading up to her husband’s assassination. This Mary is no dignified First Lady quietly supporting her husband from the sidelines. Instead, she is a deeply frustrated woman trapped in a joyless marriage and suffocated by the rigid expectations of the 1860s White House. She drinks heavily, rebels loudly and rages against the limitations placed on her as a wife, a woman and America’s First Lady. Above all, she longs to escape her current life and pursue a dream wildly at odds with her role as the President’s spouse, she wants a life on stage as a cabaret performer.
The story unfolds as a series of comic set pieces that are a mix of slapstick, farce and absurdism. Each episode traces Mary’s increasingly frantic attempts to escape her suffocating domestic existence. At the centre of her discontent is Mary’s Husband (Giles Terera), portrayed as a closeted gay man who is primarily focused on the demands of public office and on satisfying his sexual desires with a man, rather than on providing his wife with the emotional support that she clearly needs.
As the action races towards the President’s assassination, Oh, Mary! abandons any lingering commitment to realism and embraces full-blown absurdity. The comedy becomes louder, broader and more unhinged. There isn’t much light and shade in this play, as the jokes and physical humour are relentless so it becomes easy to overlook the possibility that Mary’s outlandish behaviour is a cry for help and her only means of being seen and heard.
At the heart of the production is Mason Alexander Park, whose performance as Mary Todd Lincoln is both commanding and magnetic. From the moment they stride on stage in a voluminous hooped dress, it is clear that this will be no conventional portrayal. Park approaches the role with fearless commitment, relishing its comic excess while never losing sight of the character’s underlying fragility. Even at moments of heightened farce, Mary’s emotional need remains present, grounding the comedy in something very human.
Mary’s Husband provides a necessary counterweight to Mary’s volatility. Giles Terera is hilarious in his portrayal of the President as controlled and world-weary, suggesting a man burdened by responsibility and either unable or unwilling to engage emotionally with his wife. The supporting cast of Kate O’Donnell as Mary’s Chaperone, Dino Fetscher as Mary’s Teacher and Oliver Stockley as Mary’s Husband’s Assistant are equally adept, navigating the production’s rapid tonal shifts and split-second comic timing with impressive ease.
Cole Escola’s writing is unapologetically irreverent, the dialogue densely packed with sharp one-liners and deliberately tasteless gags delivered at breakneck speed. The humour demands a willingness to embrace chaos, excess and silliness, a requirement that perhaps not all audience members will be happy to meet.
Director Sam Pinkleton keeps the on-stage chaos under tight control without dulling the production’s raw energy. The staging is not elaborate but purposeful, with rapid scene changes and lighting shifts reinforcing the play’s breathless pace while ensuring that its frequent tonal shifts remain clear.
Beneath the outrageous humour, Oh, Mary! is a carefully constructed piece of theatre, anchored by Mason Alexander Park’s central performance of remarkable control and charisma. This may not be a show that will please everyone, particularly those who prefer a more subtle approach to humour or a respectful historical comedy. Yet, for audiences prepared to meet it on its own terms, Oh, Mary! offers an experience that is outrageously funny. In a West End landscape so often shaped by safe, predictable choices, Oh, Mary! feels like a gleefully anarchic breath of fresh air.
