Writer: John Ransom Phillips
Director: Bronagh Lagan
Travel back to the American Civil War era in this play, returning from last year’s run, which focuses on the First Lady Mary Lincoln (Keala Settle) and the world’s first celebrity photographer Mathew Brady (Hal Fowler). Mrs. Lincoln approaches Brady numerous times throughout the play to take her photograph. He tries to capture her, but never fully sees her. He wants to photograph her through the lens of what other people think about her, or as he comes to view her.
Mary Lincoln’s life is full of struggles and grief: from her husband’s assassination to charges of mental instability and treason, to harsh views from her Washington peers and to an inability to control her own image. This play provides glimpses of her battles as she also navigates obtaining a photograph from Brady. She fights to get across her identity as a woman, a mother, a wife and a human being to Brady.
All of these aspects and themes from Mrs. Lincoln’s life are at the crux of this performance, and this creates a disjointed narrative that falls apart and becomes confusing at times to follow. Throw in Fowler’s impersonations of other photography clients, and this play’s narrative is simply too ambitious for an 85-minute production.
The flow of the story is the main weakness of the play. There are numerous narrative shifts that are individually powerful, but placed together, are chaotic. It is hard to determine at times which exact period in Mary Lincoln’s life the actors are portraying.
Despite these issues, the overall acting by Settle and Fowler is a joy to watch. They truly become their characters and portray the power dynamic between them. Fowler portrays Brady as a man wrapped in his own greatness and, to a degree, is the maestro behind Lincoln, not only becoming President, but also part of the latter’s assassination. The play only connects this further when they reproduce Mrs Lincoln sitting next to her husband as Brady comes from behind and shoots Lincoln.
The staging, lights, and sound effects are also a nice touch. There is a large frame around the stage, adding an interesting touch to view the play as moving photography. The costuming also adds nicely to Mary Lincoln’s character as she moves through different stages of her identity. And it’s a very different show than the humorous Oh, Mary!, also about Mary Lincoln, playing just up the street.
Runs until 6 March 2026
