There are some evenings in the theatre where the time seems to fly by in an instant, and you realise you’ve been so engrossed that you barely noticed its passage.
Then there are others when there’s something so seriously afoot that you notice every jot, tittle, and niggle of deficiency, and the evening drags on, and on, and on…
Mary and the Hyenas, which is at Wilton’s until 29th March, opens on or about 30th August 1797, in London, where the 38-year-old feminist firebrand and philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft (a scarlet-haired and fearless Laura Elsworthy), is confined to bed expecting the birth of her second child (who would go on to be the no-less radical Mary Shelley). The birth happens, and a daughter is born, but there’s no sign of the placenta, so after a couple of days the midwife calls in a – male – doctor who removes the afterbirth but manages to give Mary the infection that will eventually kill her of septicaemia ten days later on 10th September 1797. Mary, in a desperate fever-dream and knowing that she’s dying, wants to impart to her daughter everything she knows, and the rest of the show is a flashback of her life doing just this.
Laura Elsworthy’s Mary is a powerhouse of anticipatory energy, always wanting to write the next book, or change the world. But the rest of the cast of six are equally as dynamic and each take multiple roles.
Kat Johns-Burke triumphs as Frances (Fanny) Blood, the apparent love of Mary’s life after whom she named her first child.
Kate Hampson has a star turn as the awful, and very funny, Lady Kingsborough for whose daughter Mary acted as governess.
Beth Crane is especially affecting as Mary’s sister, Eliza.
Ainy Medina is suitably upright as Thomas Paine (though as he was born and brought up in England it’s doubtful, he’s have sounded ‘American’).
Elexi Walker, as the man who manages to break Mary’s heart, is charming, but the outcome is all too foreseeable.
Sara Perks’ set, though vertiginous, provides a great backdrop to her stunning costumes designs – the show at times looks like a ‘New Romantics’ video – and Esther Richardson’s direction is clever and sleek.
So, what’s the problem? I hear you ask.
Well… Maureen Lennon’s script is clever, literate, and funny. Although at times her laudable ambition to leave nothing out can make it feel as if you’re being hit around the head with the script rather than offered it as an evening of entertainment.
However, the real problem is the score. Expecting that a play will become a musical by sticking some songs into it is at best naive and at worst cavalier. Yet introducing music into play – especially so much of it – stops it being a play and turns it into a musical.
And as a musical the show simply doesn’t work. It doesn’t have the structure. And because of that it drags, and drags, an drags.
Tor Maries’ (Billy Nomates) music is fairly modern, and I didn’t dislike it. But the lyrics by her and Maureen Lennon are simply not up to snuff most of the time. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not a total disaster, but they’re mainly just very forgettable.
What I DO know is that this radical feminist icon could have been much better served. In fact I’d even go so far as to say that with re-working there could be the whiff of a British Hamilton about this show. Unfortunately, it’s going to need to go back in the oven and undergo a lot more cooking first.
Book: Maureen Lennon
Music, and Lyrics: Maureen Lennon & Billy Nomates (Tor Maries)
Director: Esther Richardson
Starring: Laura Elsworthy, Ainy Medina, Beth Crame, Elexi Walker, Kat Johns-Burke, Kate Hampson
Dates: Booking to 29th March 2025
Running time: Two and a half hours, including 1 x 20-minute Interval
Date Seen: Thursday 20th March 2025