Catherine Tate Replaces Mason Alexander Park In West End’s Oh Mary!

Catherine Tate is to take over as the new lead in the hit West End play Oh Mary!.

At the end of last year, Cole Escola’s Tony-winning historical comedy made its London debut, with Mason Alexander Park starring in the lead role of Mary Todd Lincoln.

With Mason’s stint as Mary due to come to an end in April, it’s been revealed that Bafta winner Catherine is set to take over for a limited 12-week run.

Mason will take their last bow as Mary on Saturday 25 April, after which Catherine’s first show will be on Monday 27 April.

Best known for her work in her self-titled sketch comedy series, Catherine’s other on-screen credits include Doctor Who, the American remake of The Office and, more recently, the US sitcoms Going Dutch and Queen Of Oz.

The seven-time Bafta nominee’s most recent theatre work has included the Stephen Sondheim musical Assassins, the Shakespeare revival Much Ado About Nothing, the thriller The Enfield Haunting and the London Palladium’s latest Christmas pantomime.

Oh, Mary! premiered off-Broadway in 2024, but proved so popular that a Broadway transfer and Tony win for Best Actor In A Play followed soon afterwards.

As well as writing the play, Cole Escola originated the role of Mary. Since they stepped down from the production, Mary has been played on Broadway by everyone from Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon and musical theatre legend Jane Krakowski to Emmy nominee Titus Burgess and Hedwig And The Angry Inch creator John Cameron Mitchell.

It then premiered on the West End in December 2025, and while the initial critical reception for its London run has been somewhat mixed, our review hailed it as “just as outrageous, hysterically funny and genuinely unpredictable as its Broadway counterpart”.

Oh Mary! is now playing at London’s Trafalgar Theatre until 18 July 2026.