The West End is currently playing host to a production that’s generating buzz not just for its audacious take on a historical figure, but for the sheer volume of queer representation both onstage and behind the scenes. Oh, Mary!, a comedy centered on Mary Todd Lincoln in the weeks leading up to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, is deliberately “entirely historically inaccurate,” according to actor Dino Fetscher, but profoundly accurate in its celebration of queer identity.
Fetscher, who plays Mary’s Teacher in the play, spoke with The Big Issue about the significance of a production so openly embracing of LGBTQ+ performers. “Mason Alexander Park, who plays Mary, is trans, Kate O’Donnell, who plays Mary’s chaperone, is trans. I’m gay. Giles is queer,” he explained. “It’s a very queer cast on the stage. There is such a beautiful spectrum of queerness on the stage and behind the scenes.”
The success of Oh, Mary!, Fetscher argues, is itself a form of protest. “Its sheer success – the magnitude of the play – is in itself a huge protest because the play isn’t necessarily about queer history at all. The visibility of all these queer people on the stage doing something that’s so huge, that is to me, really profound and really powerful and shows the power of who we are and what we can do.” This sentiment arrives at a particularly fraught moment, as , sees ongoing political battles surrounding trans rights and visibility.
Fetscher believes that visibility and humor can be powerful tools in the face of increasing hostility. “With what’s happening in the regression of trans rights and the attack on trans people, the battleground seems to be a lot on social media. And we know the tactic of fascism is to kind of bombard us, to bamboozle us, to make us feel so overwhelmed that we’re apathetic and we don’t have the energy. So, protecting your personal joy and protecting that spark within you, for me, is a really strong form of protest.”
Beyond the political resonance, Fetscher’s own journey reflects a deep appreciation for embracing individuality. He recalls a childhood dream of becoming an actor, a passion that still ignites a sense of wonder. “I still get it now, I get this feeling on set, I get it backstage. I get it every day where I just go, ‘Fuck, What we have is so cool’. I can feel that child within me going, ‘this is so cool’.”
That sense of self-assuredness, he attributes in large part to his mother. Raised primarily by a single mother who uses crutches, Fetscher describes her as “very headstrong” and relentlessly determined. “She’s told ‘You can’t go on this excursion’. She says, ‘yes, I can’. She just did a cruise to the Arctic, because she’s always wanted to. They told us she couldn’t do it. She said, ‘yes, I can’. And that’s a big part of how I see the world. It could have been very easy for her to be someone completely different and allow her disability to limit her. But she has never been limited.”
This personal experience fuels Fetscher’s strong stance on societal barriers faced by disabled people. He finds the notion that anyone should be deemed incapable of pursuing certain opportunities “abhorrent,” asserting that disabled people are, in his view, “superhuman.” He also highlighted the lack of disability representation on screen and the “disgusting” treatment of disabled people by governmental systems, advocating for increased opportunities and a recognition of their inherent abilities.
Looking back, Fetscher identifies the Iraq War and the Bush administration as the first political issue that truly captured his attention. “I remember 9/11. I was like, 12 or something. And I’d come home from school and it was on the TV. And then, thereafter, I remember all the talk of weapons of mass destruction. And then as things progressed and I learned more, I think that was the first kind of distrust I started to have in government. I remember being quite disappointed with our Labour government, and with Tony Blair for joining in when there didn’t seem to be any viable evidence.”
When asked about his “big issue” – the most pressing political concern of the moment – Fetscher didn’t hesitate. “Politically, my biggest issue is the world being on fire. Things are so clearly wrong with what’s happening in the States, what’s happened with Renee Nicole Good [the woman killed by ICE]. It’s like, I’m living in 1984 and watching our government be so gentle and on eggshells and saying, ‘Well, you know’… I think now is the time for governments to be strong and bold and say what we believe in.”
His proposed solution, while perhaps idealistic, speaks to a desire for systemic change. “I’m no politician, but I inherently feel that the idea of people being able to amass hundreds of billions of pounds is unnecessary and hugely damaging to the entire planet. Fine, be rich. People should be allowed to earn up to £999 million, and then no more.”
Oh, Mary!, then, is more than just a comedy. It’s a testament to the power of queer visibility, a celebration of individuality, and a call for a more just and equitable world – all wrapped up in a historically inaccurate, and deliberately chaotic, package.
