“OH, MARY!” – REVIEW OF FARCE ABOUT MRS. ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN LONDON

Reviewed by James Karas 

“OH, MARY!” by Cole Escola is ostensibly a play about Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of the great president. It has nothing to do with her life but instead is an overrated farce that relies on grotesque and non-stop overacting. It is now playing at the Trafalgar Theatre in London.

Mary (Mason Alexander Park - yes she is played by a man ) bursts onto the stage, clearly deranged and frantically looking for her bottle of booze. She  screams and screeches and is out of her mind. Her long skirt flies above her knees showing that she is wearing polka dot underwear. We will see them many times.

Lincoln appears and tells her that there is a war on and the country is fighting the south. “The south what? asks Mary. It is a decent line that does not bear repeating but it is repeated. Everyone overacts to the point of being tiresome and humour the is forced to the limit.

An officer described as Mary’s husband’s assistant in the program (Oliver Stockley) bends over in front of Lincoln and the latter is ready to hump him. A bit later we will see Lincoln invoking his deity and his assistant will  emerge from under  his desk and we know exactly what he was doing. He tells us about sperm to make sure we know that he  was fellate the president.

Oliver Stockley, Katie O'Donnell, Mason Alexander Park. 

Photo: Manuel Harlan 

Mary’s Chaperone (Kate O’Donnell) has a secret that she does not want to disclose to her. Well, she does and it’s about a scoop of ice cream that fell on her lap and you can guess the precise location and the pleasure it provided.

Mary wants to be a cabaret singer for which she has no talent. Lincoln hires a tutor to teach her to become an actor. His intention is to keep her away from the bottle and his choice is a second-rate actor called John Wilkes Booth (Dino Fetscher). Yes, that one. 

In a note in the program, author Escola and director Sam Pinkleton explain that they took a “seemingly stupid idea” about Mary Lincoln wanting to become a cabaret star and treat it with “the utmost care and sincerity” and bombard us with jokes and plot twists and leave us surprised. What we get is overdone farce, repeated jokes that  are not funny and, I say it again, overacting that I cannot believe is allowed in the West End and presumably did well on Broadway.

Except for a scene in a theatre where Lincoln is assassinated by Mary (surprise) with Booth and a cabaret where Mary sings shortly after the assignation, the set design by dots shows a desk and a sofa. The gaudy costumes for Mary and her chaperone are by Holly Pierson.

A comment about audience reaction is necessary. Although many of us sat in stunned silence watching this unbelievable production, most people found it hilarious. The raunchy bits were greeted with howls of laughter and the reaction at curtain call was enthusiastic.

Which brings us to the conclusion that there is no accounting for public taste.

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“OH, MARY!” by Cole Escola, directed by Sam Pinkleton continues at the Trafalgar Theatre, 14 Whitehall, London. www.trafalgartheatre.com

JAMES KARAS IS THE CULTURE EDITOR OF THE GREEKK PRESS, TORONTO

THE TEMPEST – REVIEW OF 2026 PRODUCTION AT SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE IN LONDON

Reviewed by James Karas 

The small Sam Wanamaker Playhouse keeps Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre active during the winter months. I caught Tim Crouch’s production of The Tempest. Crouch as the star and director has tailored the production it his ideas and has made it suitable for the very small stage and tight quarters of the playhouse in general. There is no thunder or lightning and no wild storms but a very good presentation of the text within those limitations.

Crouch plays the deposed Duke of Milan as the conqueror of the island where he brought civilization to the natives of whom we meet only two. The first is the spirit Ariel (Naomi Wirthner) who is his faithful servant but wants to be set free. The other is the wild and not quite civilized Caliban (normally played by Faizal Abdullah) who is more resentful than thankful even though Prospero reminds him that he has taught him to read.

He raised his lovely daughter Miranda (Sophie Steer) on the island and she has seen no other people until she meets the hunk Ferdinand (Joshual Griffin) and you don’t need me to tell you the rest.

This Prospero is gentler than imperialistic and although he became a magician thanks to the books that he brought with him in the end he throws them away and is ready to return to his Dukedom in Milan. Crouch both as director and star handles the play with gentility and may help us to understand his temporary imperialism because of the circumstances. 

Joshua Griffin as Ferdinand, Naomi Wirthner as Ariel, 

Tim Crouch as Prospero and Sophie Steer as Miranda in The Tempest 

c. Marc Brenner

Antonio, the brother that deposed and exiled Prospero becomes his sister Antonia (Amanda Hadibque), and we have no difficulty accepting her as such. Wirthner, who plays Ariel, has a conspicuously displayed artificial leg and is somewhat overweight. Blind casting is de rigueur and we have no right to complain or comment about it provided the performance is sound. Can you have a spirit like Ariel with such severe limitations? I think it takes guts to cast someone like Wirthner and kudos to Crouch for doing it.

Caliban was read script in hand by Finn O’Riordan replacing the indisposed Faizal Abdullah. The theatre does not have understudies and O’Riordan did a commendable job in the role.

Caliban is in the hilarious scenes with Trinculo (Merce Ribot)  and Stephano (Patricia Rodriguez) as they plot to kill Prospero and take over the island. I think we lost some humour without the original actor playing Caliban and leaving the other clowns doing the scenes with one hand tied behind their backs, so to speak.

Crouch has an attraction to candles and we saw the cast holding them, moving them around, blowing them and lighting them.

The costumes looked like “whatever you wore when you came to work, will do” and they did not bother me at all. This looked like an intimate production and costumes may have been superfluous.

This is a very attractive and intimate production worthwhile seeing for many reasons.
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The Tempest  by William Shakespeare continues until April 12, 2026, at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, 21 New Globe Walk, London. www.shakespearesglobe.com

James Karas is Culture Editor of The Greek Press, Toronto

BROKEN GLASS – REVIEW OF ARTHUR MILLER’S PLAY AT YOUNG VIC, LONDON

Reviewed by James Karas

Broken Glass is a 1993 play by Arthur Miller that is rarely produced. It is a gripping drama about being Jewish that receives a stunning production by the Young Vic Theatre. Miller was a Jew but he never dealt with Jewishness as directly and as powerfully as he did in Broken Glass.

Phillip Gellburg (Eli Gelb) is a Jew in New York in 1938 when the Nazis are in full control of Germany and have just achieved a friendly takeover of Austria. His relationship with his Jewishness is complex. His wife Sylvia (Pearl Chanda) is obsessed with the treatment of Jews in Germany, especially the image of Jews being forced to scrub streets with toothbrushes while being ridiculed by other Germans. But her husband is not sure about his support of Jewish refugees. His job is enforcing mortgages.

Sylvia becomes paralyzed from the waist down and there is no physical explanation for her condition. Dr. Hyman (Alex Waldmann) can find no explanation for her condition, and he digs into the relationship of the Gellburgs and tries to find the emotional act that triggered paralysis.

Sylvia’s sister Harriet (Juliet Cowan) is a sympathetic character and listens to her sibling, Margaret (Nancy Carroll) is Dr. Hyman’s exuberant and slightly wacky wife.

Stanton Case (Nigel Whitmey) is Phillip’s employer and a highly successful Jew who is interested in business and his accomplishments as a Jew. We have a balanced cast for the unfolding drama that combines the personal relationships among the main characters and the larger subject of Jewish identity in a world of antisemitism.

 A Scene from Broken Glass at the Young Vic Theatre, London

The catalyst for the plot development is Dr. Hyman who is attracted to Sylvia but dedicated to finding the deep-rooted secret to her condition. Phillip’s complex relationship with Sylvia unfolds slowly and dramatically. Phillip’s relationship with his employer develops into an explosive situation. Director Jordan Fein keeps a tight grip on the many strands of the drama to the final bitter end. There is no solution and the fine-tuned drama, done staggeringly well, has an ambiguous end.

The acting is outstanding. Gelb gives a superb performance as the confused and mendacious Phillip who has many issues to resolve. Chanda as Sylvia, is equally unable to come to grips with reality. She has our sympathy, but it takes a long time to understand her. Marvelous work. Dr. Hyman presents us with issues of medical ethics, but we do not doubt his desire to dig into the lives of people until he can find a solution. A sympathetic character done exceptionally well by Waldmann.

Carroll, Cowan and Whitmey carry the secondary roles with ability and aplomb.  

The production is done in a theatre-in-the-round on a single set. The play is set in the office of Dr. Hyman, the Gellburg bedroom and the office of Stanton Case. Set Designer Rosanna Vize has created a single set for the entire play. The large playing area is surrounded by couches laden with hundreds of newspapers. This is what Sylvia is reading as she obsesses about the fate of the Jews in Germany. A part of the stage is used for Hyman’s and Stanton’s offices. In one end of the stage there is glass window and we see Sylvia and her sister behind that glass in the opening scene with Phillip and Dr. Hyman. The characters are on stage most of the time. A great touch of staging.

The costumes designed by Sussie Juhlin-Wallen emphasize Phillip’s obsession with wearing a three-piece black suit and Sylvia’s attractive physique. The other characters wear suitable 1930’s attire.

The lighting by Adam Silverman provides a brilliantly lit stage for the office scenes and subtle and alluring tones for the bedroom scenes.

Broken Glass may not rank with Death of a Salesman and All My Sons (what does?) but I found it a riveting play and express my surprise that it is almost completely ignored from the Arthur Miller canon of productions.
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Broken Glass by Arthur Miller in a co-production by Young Vic, Soto Productions and Rachel Sussman, Brian & Dayna Lee continues until April 18, 2026 at the Young Vic Theatre, 66 The Cut, Southwark, London. youngvic.org/

James Karas is the Culture Editor of The Greek Press, Toronto

QUEEN MAEVE - REVIEW OF 2026 PRODUCTION AT TARRAGON THEATRE

Reviewed by James Karas

Judith Thompson is back at 71 with a captivating new play called Queen Maeve that is now playing at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. The ads show a determined woman of a certain age holding a large sword and probably stabbing someone. In case your knowledge of Irish mythology is sparse, you should know that Maeve is described by one source asstrong-willed, ambitious, cunning, promiscuous, and an archetypal warrior queen.

The play’s main character is Mrs. Nurmi (Clare Coulter), an elderly woman in a nursing home in Cornwall. She is crotchety, impatient and demanding. She has some mobility problems but that has not affected her ability to express herself. To put it colloquially, she is a tough cookie. And oh yes, do not call her Mrs. Nurmi. She is Queen Maeve.

Queen Maeve/Mrs. Nurmi is looked after by Siobhan (Caroline Gillis), a caregiver of extraordinary ability, common sense, patience and forbearance. Gillis plays the role wonderfully.

Queen Maeve is Mrs. Nurmi's alternate and of course imaginary personality. She is visited by her grandson Jake (Ryan Bommarito) who travels by bus from Sudbury. Mrs. Nurmi shows genuine affection for her grandson. He wants money from her to do podcasts about the stars. She becomes suspicious that her grandson wants the money for drugs and becomes Queen Maeve. She takes her sword to fight him off. 

Sarah Orenstein and Clare Coulter in Queen Maeve

Her daughter Georgia (Sarah Orenstein) visits after many years of separation. I am not sure what grievances the mother and daughter have against each other but Mrs. Nurmi or is it Queen Maeve considers her daughter’s conduct unforgiveable. There seems to be no room for forgiveness or reconciliation or understanding.

Mrs. Nurmi shows anger and obstreperous behavior even against the kindly and basically wonderful Siobhan, so we have some difficulty appreciating her unforgiving conduct towards he grandson and daughter. We can understand her refusal to give money to Jake when she knows he will spend it on drugs.

Thompson does not provide enough details about Mrs. Nurmi’s behavior and her taking the personality of a mythical queen may be more than just quirky conduct. Alone and perhaps horribly lonely even with Siobhan as her caregiver may have had more serious effects on her than we can imagine. There is a secret to Mrs. Nurmi’s conduct but what is it?

The questions that we may want to consider are whether Mrs. Nurmi was visited by anyone at all or are they like Queen Maeve figments of her imagination. Is that the mystery at the

heart of Thompson’s play? There is no resolution that I could discern at the end of the play.

The acting is superb with Coulter doing an outstanding job. She is on stage during the entire performance and deserves kudos for perseverance, subtlety and stunning work. Bommarito does excellent work as the desperate conniving grandson who tries to extort money from his grandmother when she knows that he is on drugs. Orenstein gives a praiseworthy performance as a daughter who cannot get an ounce of forgiveness from her mother.

With a tough woman who thinks she is Queen Maeve and her visitors, we cover a lot of territory but there is a mystery at its core, and I have several guesses whirling in my mind, but I will keep them to myself. Go see the play and make up your mind about it.

The set by Ken MacDonald consists of a simple room in a nursing home with an ordinary bed and some furnishings. The presence of Siobhan as caregiver makes it look fine but Mrs. Nurmi’s behavior gives one the chills.

The penultimate bow goes to Mike Payette for his fine and careful directing. The final bow and standing ovation go to Judith Thompson. Don’t stop. We need more plays from you.

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Queen Maeve by Judith Thompson in a Tarragon Theater production continues until  March 29, 2026, at the Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Ave. Toronto, Ontario.  www.tarragontheatre.com

James Karas is the Culture Editor of The Greek Press, Toronto

A MIRROR - REVIEW OF 2026 ARC PRODUCTION AT 918 BATHURST THEATRE

Reviewed by James Karas 

When you walked into 918 Bathurst St. Toronto to see Sam Holcroft’s play A Mirror, you are given a nicely printed white card stating, “Welcome TO THE WEDDING OF LEYLA AND JOEL.” Leyla (Jonelle Gunderson), the bride, walks down the aisle solemnly and joins the groom Joel (Paul Smith). The Registrar (Nabil Traboulsi) begins the wedding ceremony and the bride and groom exchange vows and we read THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE written on the back of the Welcome card. It is not exactly a familiar wedding but we take it for what it is.

The Best Man (Craig Lauzon) interrupts the proceeding to announce that this is a sham wedding and is in fact the performance of a play without a license. He invites people who feel uncomfortable to leave the theatre. One person does.

To quote Dorothy, we are certainly not in Kansas or any part of the civilized world. The Oath of Allegiance makes it clear that we are in a totalitarian police state. The transition away from Kansas is sudden and without explanation but then we get to the beginning of the play.

The bride becomes Mei, a  diffident secretary in the ministry of culture. The groom becomes Adem Nariman, an aspiring playwright who has submitted a play to Celik (Traboulsi) for approval and production. The wedding party has become the office of a totalitarian police state. We have a transition from the sham wedding to the office  of Celik in the ministry of culture. What happened to the actors who were putting on an unlicensed play? What play were they putting on?  

Celik in the same three-piece suit and black gloves that he wore as the wedding Registrar has turned into an officious and frightful commissar. Adem has been hauled in for a play that he has submitted for approval not for performing anything. And Mei works for the ministry. This is confusing.

Jonelle Gunderson, Nabil Traboulsi and Paul Smith, 

Photo: Kendra Epik - ARC

Celik as the tough censor has a lot to say to Adem about what he considers as appropriate for the stage and wants him to write something optimistic and not something depressing. The state does not want people to be exposed to certain things.

Adem is defending his writing as realistic and objects to Celik’s censorship. The playwright is a brave cog in the bureaucratic wheel but he is put under pressure to comply and compromise in order to survive.

Holcroft deals with the repressive state with dramatic effects and director Tamara Vuckovic and the cast bring out the horrors and abuses of totalitarianism. At times it feels heavy-handed, familiar and perhaps repetitive but it is all there.

Vuckovic tries to be helpful with the following comments in the program:

What’s so gripping about Sam Holcroft’s A Mirror is its architecture. The

mirrored structure isn’t a stylistic flourish—it is the engine of the play.

Scenes return, reframed, and suddenly what we thought we understood

begins to shift beneath our feet. Instead of inviting the audience to watch

a story about perception—they experience their own perceptions being

challenged in real time. Questions of censorship, authorship, identity, and

the fragile boundary between fiction and reality are embedded directly in

how the story unfolds.

What I thought I understood may have shifted beneath my feet but I probably did not understand in the first place. I did not feel my perception challenged and the boundary between fiction and reality seemed all too real to be considered fragile.

A Mirror was presented at 918 Bathurst St. Toronto which looks like a former church that has  been converted into a performing arts center. There is a raised platform which may have been an altar or a pulpit but serves just as well as a stage. The set by Nick Blais features sheaths of flowing white curtain material with a few chairs and other furniture the emphasis being on white.

I should add that near the end someone appears to remove Celik. He is a Celik look-alike but there is insufficient explanation to diffuse the confusion created in the two hours’ duration of A Mirror. A disappointment.
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A Mirror  by Sam Holdcroft in a production by ARC will run until March 28, 2026, at 918 Bathurst, 918 Bathurst St. Toronto Ontario. arcstage.com

James Karas is the Culture Editor of The Greek Press, Toronto

SHUCKED – REVIEW OF 2026 PRODUCTION AT THE PRINCESS OF WALES THEATRE

Reviewed by James Karas

The first and last time I heard the word corn in a song was in South Pacific when Mary Martin sang I’m in Love with a Wonderful Guy  and gleefully intoned “I am as corny as Kansas in August.” It has been a long coffee break but Shucked, the musical now playing at the Princess of Wales Theatre more than makes up for the lapse of time. In fact, it is all corn, corny, corn pone and well, OK there is no popcorn. Shucked is a fable about a town in Corn County that relies on corn for everything until it stops growing.

It is a love story and a wonderful tale about a community meeting hardship and working itself out of it. The plot is replete with jokes that I will reprise to the best of my memory in bold letters.

If a paper airplane does not fly, it becomes stationery.

We are in a mythical town where people live happily, speak with a southern accent, grow corn and the town beauty Maizy (Danielle Made) and the hunk Beau (Nick Bailey) are planning to get married. But we have a crisis. The corn no longer grows. We start the musical with the song “Corn” sung by Story Tellers 1 and 2 (Maya Lagerstam and Joe Moeller) and the ensemble. Put the wedding on hold. We have complications and more than two hours to kill before we get to that.

If the world was nice, mosquitoes would be sucking fat instead of blood.

The-Cast of The North American Tour of SHUCKED 
(Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

The brave Maizy goes to Tampa, the big city, in search of a solution and she meets another hunk, Gordy (Quinn Vanantwrp). He is a podiatrist who presents himself as a corn doctor and has some unsavory traits but she overlooks them. Gordy comes to the Corn County to solve the corn crisis and check out Lulu (a hilarious Miki Abraham) who has Time and Money and  a few other things to offer. He is interested in all of them and does not feel beholden to lovely Maizy to whom he proposed marriage. OK, he is a conman.

If you put sugar on bullshit, it does not become a brownie. Now you tell me!

We have wise Grandpa (Elijah Caldwell), Peanut (Mike Nappi) and Tank (Kyle Sherman) who round off the denizens of the town together with the ensemble. They make up a wonderful community that deliver the “wonderful” jokes that belong to Corn County with panache.  

It’s like telling someone to go to hell and the hoping he has a safe trip.

The plot takes us through the gamut of complications accompanied by easy-to-take tunes like “Travellin’ Song”, to “Woman of the World” to “Maybe Love” to “Corn” more than once. They are lovely songs that are sung more than competently without making huge demands on the singers. There are a few flourishes but its largely Corny and reminiscent of the 1970’s TV show Hee Haw.

The horse was 20 to 1 to win. Yeah, but the other horses came in at 12:30.

The scenic design by Scott Pask looks like the skeleton of a huge barn with lots of barrels (full of whiskey) rolled around. The costumes by Tilly Grimes are Texas cornpone  

Politicians are like diapers; they have to be changed frequently and for the same reason.

The musical is by Robert Horn (book), Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally (music and Lyrics) and the wonder is that they created something unlike most musicals that come from Broadway. Veteran Director Jack O’Brien handles the details of the production with Choreographer Sarah O’Gleby taking care of the dances.

I may not have my virginity but I still have the box it came in.

I repeat, it’s a simple fable with a love story and a wonderful community that faces a crisis with forbearance and humour to the delight of all.  
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Shucked by Robert Horn (book) and Brandy Clark and Shane McNally (music and lyrics continues until April 5, 2026  at the Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King St. West, Toronto, Ontario. www.mirvish.com

James Karas is the Culture Editor of The Greek Press, Toronto. 

THE SURROGATE - REVIEW OF 2026 GRIPPING DRAMA AT CROW’S THEATRE

Reviewed by James Karas 

The Surrogate is a gripping drama now playing at Crow’s Theatre in Toronto. It is a new play by Mohsin Zaidi (his first) and deals with the complex subject of two married gay men trying to have a child using a surrogate mother in Louisiana. That is a large canvas to paint on.

Sameer (Fuad Ahmed), a Muslim, is a hotshot lawyer from New York and comes from a wealthy family. Originally Canadian, he is married to Jake (Thom Nyhuus), a writer who has not published anything but is hoping to turn their experience of becoming parents using a surrogate mother into a book. Jake and Sameer proclaim their love and kiss each other passionately even though Sameer has a penchant for having sex with other men.

Marya (Sarena Parmar) is a Muslim and has agreed to be the surrogate mother to help the men. She believes that the child will be a Muslim and she needs money to pay the medical bills of her very ill husband.

Thom Nyhuus and Fuad Ahmed in The Surrogate 

The play takes place on a single set designed by Scott Penner consisting of a hospital bed with a large mirror on top where Marya is lying. We are in Louisiana where surrogacy agreements are not recognized.  Christina (Antonette Rudder) is the nurse in charge, a no-nonsense woman who knows what she is doing. The fifth character is Qasim (Siddharth Sharma), a hotblooded young man and the son of Marya.

Zaidi packs the play with incidents but at times I felt there were too many complications and the author and dramaturge Christopher Manousos could have eliminated some of the without losing the impact of the drama. Sameer is a mama’s boy of a domineering woman and he wants to provide her with a grandson. We never see her but we learn that she does not want to see her son’s husband.

And what if Marya wants to keep the baby? In Louisiana legally she can do that. Can she be transferred to Texas where the law recognizes those agreements? The question of medical expenses arises but Sameer states that he can cover them no matter what. He is litigation-happy and at times arrogant and threatens to sue the hospital if he does not get his way.

Nurse Christina has her own issues with giving birth and the firebrand Qasim is so upset with what is happening he spits in Sameer’s face.

Problems, issues, encounters and arguments arise in quick succession keeping (us?) rivetted to the plot developments. Marya has had a seizure and there is uncertainty about giving birth by Caesarian section or waiting for the child to develop. There are significant dangers either way. Who has the right to decide, Sameer and Jake under an agreement not recognized in Louisiana or Marya’s son?

The small Crow’s theatre provides an intimacy that gives additional power to the stunning performances by the cast. We are kept on the edge of our seats as the prospective parents encounter medical uncertainties, tension between them, being put aside by Nurse Christine and having to deal with the fear of losing their child to Marya or death.

The dramatic intensity created by the various conflicts is relentless and one does not know where to turn. What we do know is to heap praise on the five actors for their exquisite acting. Ahmed as Sameer is arrogant, concerned, bombastic, cowed by his mother, and a lover. A complex character beautifully defined. Nyhuus as Jake loves Sameer but he is unsure of himself, has doubts and fears and is financially dependent on Sameer. Superb acting. Kudos to Rudder as Christina who has to balance a lot of arguments that are aimed at her.

I will not disclose the dramatic finale .

The whole performance lasting 95 minutes is orchestrated and controlled masterfully by director Christopher Manousos.  
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The Surrogate  by Mohsin Zaidi, in a production by Here For Now Theatre in Association with Crow’s Theatre, House and Body, and BCurrent Performing Arts will run until March 29, 2026, at Crow’s Theatre, 345 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto, Ontario.  http://crowstheatre.com/

James Karas is the Culture Editor of The Greek Press, Torono