Catherine Tate is bringing pure chaos to the West End with Oh, Mary! at the Trafalgar Theatre.
Oh, Mary! is a hilariously inaccurate retelling of the life of Mary Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s wife. Written by Cole Escola, the play focuses on her chaotic and carefree life around the time of her husband’s assassination. While the play incorporates some historical facts, most of Oh, Mary! is absurd fiction, and that is part of what makes it work.
Catherine Tate was perfectly cast as Mary. She brought her characteristic loud personality and strong comedic talent to a role that seemed tailor-made for her. As announced by a member of the production team before the show started, Tate was determined to give the audience a good show, even if her movements were limited following a knee injury a week prior. Some of these changes were even referenced during the performance, breaking the fourth wall in an interesting way.
The rest of the cast was also phenomenal, with Scott Karim as Mary’s husband delivering an interestingly queer take on Abraham Lincoln. Likewise, Kate O’Donnell as Mary’s chaperone was hilarious throughout, but particularly during the ice cream scene.
In my view, the play reaches its peak just before Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, making the final ten minutes feel somewhat less impactful by comparison. However, this may have been partly due to the adjustments made to accommodate Tate’s injury.
Oh, Mary! will continue running at the Trafalgar Theatre for the foreseeable future. Catherine Tate’s run will finish on 18 July. After this, Cole Escola will portray Mary Todd Lincoln between 20 July and 15 August, before handing the hoop skirt to Jinkx Monsoon, who will be Mary from 17 August to 26 September. There are plenty of great Marys to choose from!
Gonzalo
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