Mrs President

Mrs President photos

Mrs President description

Introducing Mrs President. Meet Mary Lincoln, wife of US president Abraham Lincoln. The play stars Miriam Grace Edwards (One of the Boys, Romeo & Juliet) as Mary Lincoln and Sam Jenkins-Shaw (The King and I, Twelfth Night) as Mathew Brady in this brand new tour de force of a historical drama.

Meet the woman behind the title

As the USA's First Lady, Mary Lincoln was a woman at war with herself, her grief, and the many people who were determined to bring her down. The elite of the time hated and despised her. She was even accused of treason at one point. So, determined to fix her terrible public image, Mary hooked up with the world's first celebrity photographer Mathew Brady, making plans to win back the hearts of Americans.

While Brady had helped her husband win the presidency, his partnership with Mary quickly turns into a tense battle over creative control. Mary fights to tell her story in a play examining the themes of power, identity, female agency and the personal cost of being represented by someone else.

The script by acclaimed artist, playwright, and historian John Ransom Phillips is described as 'richly textured'. The gripping plot invites audiences to think again about history’s biases and the human need to define ourselves. This unmissable new London production breaths intimate new life into a politically charged plot revealing the woman behind the USA's least-understood First Lady.

The creative team

Written by John Ransom Phillips and Directed by Bronagh Lagan, the Set and Costume Design is by Gregor Donnelly and the Lighting Design by Derek Anderson. The Sound Design comes from Sonum Batra and the Video Design is by Matt Powell. The Production Manager is Dan Weager and the General Management is handled by Katy Lipson and Kristie Winsen for ARIA Entertainment.

Playing at Charing Cross Theatre (venue info)

Mrs President video