Review: Mary Said What She Said at the Festival Theatre

Review by Carly Fisher

As part of the 2026 program at the Adelaide Festival, Mary Said What She Said arrives with considerable pedigree. Written by Darryl Pinckney and directed by celebrated visual theatre-maker Robert Wilson, the production presents a stylised reflection on the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. At its centre stands an undeniable icon of stage and screen, Isabelle Huppert, delivering the work’s singular 90-minute monologue.

There is no questioning the feat of endurance required. Huppert’s performance is unwaveringly controlled: committed, precise and exacting in its execution. Her delivery adheres closely to Wilson’s distinctive theatrical language, where gesture, rhythm and stillness are sculpted with meticulous care. Every movement appears deliberate; every vocal shift carefully measured. It is a formidable technical exercise, one that clearly demands discipline and stamina. My arm muscles ached in sympathy for her arms throughout!

Visually, the production offers moments of striking beauty. Wilson’s stage pictures — stark lighting, carefully composed silhouettes, dramatic haze and sculptural use of space — occasionally create arresting images that linger in the mind. These tableaux are arguably the production’s most compelling element, giving the sense of watching living artworks unfold on stage.

Yet these visual moments only hold attention for so long. Structurally, the piece quickly settles into a rhythm that rarely deviates: scenes gradually build toward the same crescendo of intensified music, rapid-fire dialogue and bright lighting shifts before resetting and beginning again. As the pattern repeats, the dramatic impact diminishes, and the 90-minute runtime begins to feel considerably longer.

The production’s choreographic and gestural language also invites interpretation — though not always with clear reward. Repetitive, sometimes strange physical motifs recur throughout: rigid gestures, stylised pacing, abrupt movements that seem intentionally constrained. I cannot help but wonder whether these choices are intended to symbolise the restrictions placed upon Mary during her life and reign, or the tightening limitations surrounding her power. The production leaves these meanings largely for the audience to decipher, though the result can feel less like intriguing ambiguity and more like dramaturgical distance.

Practical staging choices add another layer of difficulty. With subtitles positioned high above or far to the side of the stage, I found myself often forced to choose between watching Huppert or reading the text. From many vantage points, it becomes difficult to fully absorb both simultaneously, leaving a lingering sense that something is always being missed.

Ultimately, Mary Said What She Said is theatre that asks a great deal of its audience - you must be comfortable sitting with the possibility that you may not fully understand what you are seeing as it unfolds. Many will attend for the chance to witness a stage icon, or to experience the visual spectacle of Wilson’s theatrical world. That said, this is the kind of theatre we do not see all that often in Australia - it is definitely more European in style and it is a great opportunity to see this sort of a piece here.

For audiences drawn to avant-garde form and experimental theatrical language, this may prove compelling. Lovers of narrative-driven theatre, however, may — like this reviewer — find the experience a long 90 minutes.

Image Supplied