Notes From Row H

Off West End Theatre Review – The Charing Cross Theatre (PR/Gifted)

Playing at the Charing Cross Theatre from 23^rd January until 8^th March, the two-hander Mrs President is written by John Ransom Phillips (Fatherless Sons) and is directed by Bronagh Lagan (Broken Wings). 

Mrs President tells the story of Mary Todd Lincoln (Keala Settle) and her desire to be photographed by the avant-garde photographer Mathew Brady (Hal Fowler). She is attempting to find her own identity and does not want to be defined by men or the people around her. Throughout her sitting, Mary is shaped by events around her, and her grief and trauma is then used by Brady to try and take a photograph of her that will make the public more amiable and sympathetic toward her: and also make him more famous. 

In a non-singing role, Keala Settle plays Mary Lincoln and gives a strong performance – even if the material does let her down. She captures the depth of Mary’s character and is very watchable. Hal Fowler plays opposite her as the formidable Mathew Brady, and again, puts in a strong performance even if his material is slightly underwritten and under done. Together, they work very well. The shifting power dynamics are thrilling and are the core of the play. 

Whilst the concept of Mary wanting a perfect picture to make her stand out amongst powerful men this is a promising concept, it fell a bit flat. And despite the strong performances of the actors, it was the writing which was the major flaw in this iteration of Mrs President. Sometimes confusing, and sometimes just bizarre, it felt underdeveloped and convoluted. There were inconsistencies in the plot, and the rich possibilities that come with the concept, were not properly explored, but were merely showed quickly and somewhat randomly – then never referenced again.

The narrative also jumps around, and at times, it was confusing where in the timeline the scenes were taking place. Also, it was unclear what scenes were taking place in ‘real time’ or in Mary’s mind. The character of Mathew Brady was perplexing too. It was hard to tell sometimes whether he was mad or a genius, whether he was just trying to mould her into what he sees Mary to be or genuinely trying to help her come out of the shadow of her husband. There were times that it was very hard to discern what his goal was, and it did feel sometimes that the two actors were in two different plays. Despite the short running time of 85 minutes, it felt sometimes that the pace was slow and dragging in places. It is not to say that these issues cannot be fixed, but the show and the writing needs more time to develop. 

The use of projections and lighting was clever and helped to make the play visually interesting and were two of the play’s major strengths. Also, Anna Kelsey’s (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) set and costumes design are striking and come alive when combined with the special effects. 

I came out of the performance feeling very conflicted about what I had just watched. I liked the whole concept of Mary Lincoln wanting to step out from her husband’s shadow and be her own woman, whilst being hounded by her own feelings of grief, and the conflict that that created. However, I felt that the narrative jumped around, was underdeveloped, and did not mine that rich wealth of material deeply at all. I liked the message about not being defined by men or the social and political environment, and her taking her own picture at the end, so she could allow herself to be perceived in her own way. However, the journey to get to that realisation was bumpy, and this play would benefit from having more time to develop and understand what actually it wants to focus on. 

Written by Helena Featherstone