"Oh, Mary!" (West-End Review)

On a recent whirlwind trip to London, I managed to catch Oh, Mary! at the Trafalgar Theatre. Jet-lagged but firmly on a mission, I raced to Trafalgar in hopes of snagging a rush seat and triumphantly secured an upper dress circle ticket for about thirty quid. I entered the theatre exhausted but walked out energized, grateful, and buoyed by an unexpected but welcome feeling of queer kinship.

In Canada, theatre programmes are typically included with the price of the ticket so I was surprised to learn I had to pay for one (and that it was out of my budget). Overhearing this exchange, a kind stranger approached me and offered me their programme to look through, giving me their seat number so I could give it back to them whenever I was finished with it. Suffice it to say, my programme angel ensured my night was off to a truly lovely start and somehow it only got better from there. 

Running a tight 1 hour and 20 minutes (no intermission, no mercy, no time for your ab muscles to relax from the non-stop laughs!), the show—expertly directed by Sam Pinkleton and written by Cole Escola (who won the Tony for best actor in 2024 for their performance of Mary in the Broadway run)—is a fever dream of camp, absurdist comedy, and gloriously unhinged humour.

Leading the West End’s production is Mason Alexander Park as Mary Todd Lincoln, radiating a kind of theatrical electricity that feels both deliciously sharp and joyfully feral. The entire cast meets their energy note for note: Giles Terera as “Mary’s Husband” (AKA Abraham Lincoln); Kate O’Donnell as Mary’s Cherpone; Oliver Stockley as Mary’s Husband’s Assistant; and Dino Fetscher as Mary’s Teacher, all of whom fully lean into each historically inaccurate bit and every flash of Mary's hand-painted, heart-covered bloomers. 

What struck me most wasn’t the nonstop boisterous laughter, but the queer joy that reverberated from it. As a Canadian in the land of the Brits, the humour landed differently between myself and the majority of the audience. There was one moment where I laughed so loudly and so alone that I briefly perhaps became part of the performance too. A Canadian cackle echoing through a British pause, which then led into an audience-wide laugh. A cultural exchange of queer joy at its finest.

Beyond the punchlines the night felt like queer communion. You could feel it in the audience: cross-generational LGBTQIA+ folks laughing together, elders beside teens, a shared recognition humming in the room. It’s rare to sit in a theatre and feel that kind of collective permission to be so unmasked and unabashedly, well, queer!

Oh, Mary! runs until April 26th with Mason Alexander Park at the helm. And it was recently announced as an extended run beginning April 27th and running through July starring Catherine Tate as Mary Todd Lincold, beloved from The Catherine Tate Show, The Office, and Doctor Who. 

I can’t recommend this show enough. Go alone or bring your friends and Drag Mom. You’ll have fun no matter what. 

If I may also take a moment to put another queer space of joy on your radar, in the walkback to my hotel, I managed to divinely run into one of the most fun queer spaces I have entered, Halfway to Heaven located 7 Duncannon St. I was in search of food (silly Canadian- these establishments are for drinking not eating!) but ended up staying for a delightful drag show in the bar’s lower level hosted by the Winner of Drag Idol UK 2013, Martha D'Arthur and a cheeky halfpint of local lager with proceeds supporting a local LGBTQIA+ organization. 

Stay tuned for more soon, dear reader! I managed to catch one other highly talked about show during my time in London- this one a bit more…chilling. Most would even say paranormal!