Marys Seacole is an ambitious but overcomplicated new play – review
We were thoroughly impressed with Jackie Sibblies Drury’s Fairview, the Pulitzer-prize winning drama which played at the Young Vic in 2019, so we were very excited to see she had a new play opening in London this spring.
Drury’s new show is a consideration of the life of Mary Seacole – an important story which needs to be told more often – and it’s an ambitious production, although it feels a bit convoluted and overcomplicated.
This is far from a straightforward retelling. Sure, there are scenes set in the Crimea during her lifetime and we see a few interactions with Florence Nightingale – but for the most part this is a time travelling play which explores caring through the ages, whether that’s in Seacole’s native Jamaica or in the UK or the USA.
We see differing attitudes through the lens of different generations and some interesting points are made. Ultimately, however, it all just feels a bit confusing – a lot is going on, and we get little snapshots into many different lives which don’t really come together as a satisfying whole.
