Oh, Mary! at Trafalgar Theatre
It’s not often you find theatre directors and writers describe their work as idiotic, but that’s exactly what Cole Escola and Sam Pinkleton do in the programme for their Tony-award winning play Oh, Mary!
Portraying the farcically fictional story of First Lady Mary Todd, wife of the 16th President of the United States, Escola and Pinkleton’s production is a masterclass in hilarity. Mason Alexander Park stars as the President’s wife, and fits the role so much, as if it were written for them. While Mary’s Husband (Giles Terera) is in the midst of the Civil War, fighting with the South as well as his own temptations, unhinged Mary is bouncing off the walls searching for her next drop of whisky. Park practically leaps through the drawing room, clad in a black flowing hoop dress, with a comical hairstyle fashioned on top of the head in a plaited bun, and a pair of rambunctious curls that bounce with her at every turn. Costume designer, Holly Pierson, recounts the inspirations in the production programme, stating that the sartorial decisions “needed to be historically accurate”, and feel like they were produced in the 1970s, somewhere in middling America.
Mary is bored stiff, so much so that she can’t help but “throw an entire woman down the stairs”. Deluded though she may be by her talents, she desires a life of authenticity. Mary’s Husband does everything he can to keep his wife busy and away from the alcohol and paint thinner. Mary spends time with her chaperone, Louise (Kate O’Donnell), who patiently receives all the backlash from her friend’s crazed and explosive ways, while Mary’s Teacher (Dino Fetscher) tries his best to teach her acting, but the First Lady’s hot-headedness is a force to be reckoned with.
Maintaining surprise is crucial to the show; the creators wanted to make an absurd comedy, but dress it up as a ‘”legitimate play”. Escola and Pinkleton have successfully produced a show that thrills and delights, with so many funny lines, it’s a fun challenge to try and keep up. We can count ourselves lucky that the idea, which was sitting in a drafts folder for 12 years, was realised into such an entertaining, brilliant and unique play.
Wild, witty, and pure joy (think Wilde on crack), this anachronistic production is not one to miss, leaving the audience splitting their sides with laughter, and it deserves all the stars.
Selina Begum
Photos: Manuel Harlan
Oh, Mary! is at Trafalgar Theatre from 3rd December 2025 until 25th April 2026. For further information or to book, visit the theatre’s website here.
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