It's no wonder that the Orange Tree Theatre is such a fan of Zoe Cooper. She received critical acclaim with both the beautifully touching Jess And Joe Forever in 2016 and the wonderfully perceptive Out Of Water in 2019 at the venue. There are many similaries here, with Cooper's deft handling of sexuality, friendship and social expectations, but this time taken from Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. Is it another hit? Not quite.
Anchored with brilliant performances from Henshall, Vernal and Morison, Mary is a satisfying, if imperfect, cross-examination drama that moves at a clip and offers some compellingly perturbing questions to consider.