For the second time since 2008, the Old Vic has transformed its proscenium stage into a theatre-in-the-round. The inaugural play of the season is Mary Page Marlowe by Tracy Letts, a time-shifting portrait of an Ohio woman portrayed at different stages of her life by five actresses.
Told through a series of short vignettes, Letts constructs an interlocking mosaic of Mary’s life. The story unfolds non-chronologically, leaping between moments — from Mary as a wailing infant in her bassinet to a grey-haired woman in a hospital chair reflecting on her past. Many scenes centre on Mary’s search for meaning and agency: in therapy; in post-coital conversations with her married boss; seeking guidance in a college-room Tarot reading; and in fraught arguments with her husband after a drunk-driving accident. Small moments quietly foreshadow Mary’s troubled past, and we find ourselves piecing together her biography as the evening unfolds. Flawed, impulsive, and searching, Mary is a woman who drinks too much, loves unwisely, and strives — often painfully — for purpose.
Letts’s dialogue deftly blends humour and pathos. As he demonstrated in his Pulitzer Prize-winning August: Osage County, he has a finely tuned ear for Midwestern speech and a gift for revealing layered character through seemingly casual exchanges. He clearly has affection for the complexities of his protagonist, recalling the damaged, formidable women Tennessee Williams so poignantly explored.
This is Matthew Warchus’s first production as the Old Vic’s artistic director, and he directs with clarity and compassion, keeping the fragmented narrative emotionally cohesive. The large cast and fleeting appearances of secondary characters give the evening the texture of a short story cycle, and the ensemble work is uniformly strong.
Each of the five actors playing Mary gives a distinct and believable performance, charting her evolution and revealing different aspects of her character. Andrea Riseborough stands out for her intensity, and Rosy McEwen brings a steely emotional clarity to her scenes. Together they make Mary feel both ordinary and remarkable — flawed, but recognisably human.
The design is simple and effective: a few stools and tables mark the changes in Mary’s life. This stripped-back approach keeps the focus on the actors and on Letts’s characterisation rather than on elaborate scenery. The costumes mark the decades and quietly track the passing years.
With the need to reorient after frequent blackout set changes (kudos to the fleet-footed stage crew), the evening occasionally loses momentum and feels a little fragmented. Yet, in all, the play captures how a life seems never to move in a straight line. We see how meaning often hides in small, easily missed moments. Mary Page Marlowe stays with you not for its big revelations, but because it understands how messy, funny, and uncertain real life can be.
Mary Page Marlowe
By: Tracy Letts
Directed by: Matthew Warchus
Cast includes: Andrea Riseborough, Susan Sarandon, Rose McEwen, Hugh Quarshie, Clare Hughes, Eden Epstein, Lauren Ward, Paul Thornley, Ronan Raftery
Set and Costumes: Rob Howell
Running time: 90 minutes, no interval
Running until: 1 November 2025
Photo Credit: Manuel Harlan