Review: Mary Jane at The Old Fitz

Review by Grace Swadling

There are some theatrical experiences that stay with you long after the lights have gone down and the actors have taken their final bow. These are often productions that, although not what you would call an “easy watch”, are necessary in order to allow audiences to confront the realities of the world around them. These also serve as a reminder of the depths of human determination and compassion, and encourage an inward look at our own behaviours and privilege. Amy Herzog’s ‘Mary Jane’, directed by Rachel Chant and presented by Mi Todo Productions, is one such production that is brutally heartbreaking but is nonetheless an engaging and powerful experience.

‘Mary Jane’ portrays an American mother caring for her chronically ill son Alex, whose health issues are revealed to be slowly worsening as the play unfolds. Production designer Soham Apte’s incredible set literally unfolds to smoothly transition us from Mary Jane’s apartment, to the children’s ward at the hospital and finally to a stark hospital room. This is coupled with Izzy Morrissey & Luna Ng’s lighting design, which works to create an intimate space that highlights the tensions of Mary Jane’s world. Clare Hennessy’s sound design also brings this world alive; we never see Alex, but the constant sound of the machines helping keep him alive are a stark reminder of what is at stake here.

Eloise Snape absolutely shone as Mary Jane, her unflagging optimism and matter-of-factness her only weapons against the mundane and the unfathomable realities of caring for her son. Mary Jane is in pure survival mode; all her pain and frustration is just simmering under the surface, which is a testament to Snape's portrayal. When we finally do see her unravel, it’s not because she no longer has hope, but because she no longer knows what to hope for and this is perfectly played out in a gut-wrenching performance.

Despite the intensity of the subject matter, there are moments of softness and light sprinkled throughout,  and Chant has assembled a cast of incredible actors who come in and out of Mary Jane’s life to provide these moments. 

Janine Watson’s Nurse Cherry was phenomenal, as was her quietly exhausted yet compassionate Dr Toros. Watson was so dropped in to both of these characters, who represented a grounding presence for both Mary Jane and Alex.

Sophie Bloom had an incredible presence, both as the young mother overwhelmed with the care of her own sick child and as Chaya, a mother of seven whose quiet resilience and stillness was beautiful to watch, as she and Mary Jane discussed breast-feeding, religion and their children.

Isabel Burton brought a sense of sweetness to both Cherry’s niece and the musical therapist who comes to bear the brunt of Mary Jane’s exhausted unraveling. Burton radiated compassion and her song to Alex was a highlight of the production.

Rounding out the cast was Di Adams, whose gruff but warm superintendent was juxtaposed with a newly-converted Buddhist nun, whose conversations with Mary Jane book-ended the play, sitting with her in both scenes and providing a sounding board for a woman drowning in quiet desperation.

Mary Jane is real - there are hundreds of thousands of mothers across the world dealing with a sick child in a system that works against them. The commentary on the American healthcare systems can not be overlooked; in fact it is a key player in Mary Jane’s plight and it is a stark comparison to our own health care system. Chant has directed this piece with raw tenderness that exposes the realities of this kind of life, and the whole cast work together to pull the audience through this journey of grief, of struggle and of determination. It’s uncomfortable at times but so profoundly moving in others, forcing us to be a witness to this story that might otherwise have passed us by.

Image Credit: Phil Erbacher